by Bryan Jaffe
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs Office

More than 1100 applications were submitted for the Seaman to Admiral(STA-21) commissioning program, and of those, 186 were selected. One selectee makes his home at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Division (AIMD), and is looking forward to finishing his education and receiving a commission.

AS2 Jenchieh Chen, who has been a sailor since February of 1999. He decided to take the next step and move from an enlisted serviceman to a commissioned officer and will head to Officer Commissioning School in Newport, R.I. by Feb. 19. The two part training course is a requirement prior to heading to a college or university where he will finish his four-year degree.

"When I first enlisted, I didn't know how rank worked and the difference
between enlistment and commissioning," said Chen. "When I was on the boat I was working 14 hour shifts to earn my keep, and when I got here I worked at the same pace."

Chen said that he kept working his hardest and doing his job to the best of his ability. That led to his putting together the application and submitting it to the selection committee for consideration.

"I knew that I could put on the khakis and be a chief officer," Chen said, explaining his long-term ambition to move up. He said he kicked himself into gear and made it happen.

"Now that I've made it, people call about once a week for advice," Chen said. "Putting the package together can be overwhelming and a pain."

He said that frequently people feel that the amount of work that goes into assembling the package for consideration turns them off and makes them feel it is not worth the effort. But, he said that it is worth it and that those wishing to get into the program just need to stick with it and make it happen for themselves.

"I don't know what the selection board is looking for, but I tell people to set themselves above the standard," Chen said. "Your career speaks for itself; always work hard and lead by example."

He said that there are many things that can help when seeking a commission, including continuing education and actively participating in the command.

STA-21 is open to enlisted servicemen of all pay grades and ratings who meet the program's eligibility requirements. It is a full time undergraduate education and commissioning program. There is a maximum of
36 months provided for full-time study towards a bachelor's degree. Those accepted into the program remain on active duty while in school.

There is an education voucher worth up to $10,000 for tuition, books and other fees.

After completing their degrees, STA-21 candidates become ensigns, U.S.
Naval Reserve, on the active-duty list.

While taking part in the STA-21 program, seamen continue receiving basic housing allowance, basic pay and may continue advancement.

Chen estimates that he has about a year and a half left for his degree at which point he will be reassigned to a ship.

"Right now I am working full time here and going to school full time," Chen said. "This will be a different pace, I will be going to school full time and working on that."

He said that he will still be part of the school's ROTC unit, but compared to his full time work and full time school schedule, it should be "a piece of cake" to finish his education.

Before coming to Patuxent River, Chen served on USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). He said
he was on board for two deployments and that he was in the [Persian] Gulf on Sept. 11.

"I've seen a lot of places. It was a great experience," said Chen, a native of Queens, N.Y., of his time abroad. "It was great to visit different places and learn the different cultures."

Currently, Chen teaches daily classes on maintenance and equipment operation. He said his responsibility is to familiarize the commands station-wide with the different gear and to teach proper safety procedures.

Lt. Donald Hartsell, assistant maintenance officer, helped Chen get the application package together.

Hartsell said that Chen did all the work, and his only role was to look over the application and make sure everything was filled out correctly and in order.

Photo by Bryan Jaffe: AS2 Jenchieh Chen prepares materials for his afternoon Air Support class. Chen is one of the 186 enlisted servicemen selected for the Seaman to Admiral (STA-21) program and will begin his officer training in late February.