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The story starts in Norwalk and lands on a steam frigate in Pearl Harbor—then it never really slows down. Brian Ortega charts how an Operations Specialist grows into a Command Master Chief by choosing hard jobs, chasing qualifications, and holding the line on standards even when the culture tries to slide. We talk early WestPacs, plane guard and shotgun tasking around carriers, and why the best eval bullets are written underway when your judgment is live and the air picture won’t wait.

From there, the conversation gets into the craft of leadership. Brian almost got out until a chief pulled him into Fleet Training Group to teach radio talker, rules of the road, and watch supervisor. He made chief and senior chief by running watch bills and outcomes on Aegis ships, then took on the CMC mantle—where the real world showed up on day one. We unpack toxic friction with an XO, the CO’s quiet intervention, and the practical moves that reset a mess: show up at chow to hear the pulse, stack the deck by assigning a hammer chief to lead cross‑department fixes, and make standards visible and mutual. When a Commodore weighed disbanding a Chiefs’ Mess at ATG San Diego, Brian rebuilt trust through accountability, clarity, and relentless follow‑through.

Shore leadership brings a different challenge. At Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Brian learned that funding cycles outlast tours, so your job is to start the right projects and hand off clean. He revived the Chiefs’ Club with sweat equity and opened it for RIMPAC, anchoring heritage in action. We also get candid about force protection: MA manning, grinding rotations, and split ownership across shore, harbor, and expeditionary missions. The fix is focus and resourcing, not more slogans. Through it all, Brian’s message stays steady—take the hard jobs on gray hulls, look in the mirror before blaming systems, accept smart failure when lives aren’t at stake, and refuse victimhood. For veterans eyeing civilian roles, he puts it plainly: your resume is your board package and your writing is your selection board.

Hit play to hear a career built on grit, mentorship, and results, with stories that stick and lessons you can use on Monday. If this conversation sharpened your edge, subscribe, share it with a shipmate, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

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