The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Announces He Will Voluntarily Step Down

The Navy’s Top Enlisted Sailor Announces He Will Voluntarily Step Down

After 38 years of chasing rust, herding sailors, and calling it like he saw it, Honea’s stepping off the deck with his head high and his boots clean—leaving behind a Navy that’s faster, meaner, and still full of problems worth fighting for.

One year ahead of the final buzzer, the Navy’s top enlisted man—Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea—has called his shot. He’s retiring on September 12, 2025, capping a 38-year odyssey through salt, sweat, and steel. Honea didn’t make a fuss about it. No ceremonial pipe or soaring rhetoric. Just a man who’s put in the work saying it plain: “It’s the right time to go.” That’s it. No drama, no scandal, no pressure from the High Year Tenure rules breathing down his neck. He’s punching out on his own terms—rare in today’s Navy, rarer still at the top. An old salt to be respected.

Rough Seas and Hard Lessons

Born in Lubbock, Texas, the scion of an Air Force officer, Honea cut his teeth as a Boatswain’s Mate aboard USS  John A. Moore in 1987 . From there, he boarded USS Juneau, Dubuque, and Bonhomme Richard, propelled upward by promotions, boat rails, and a reputation for solid leadership . By 2006, he was a Master Chief; three years later, a Command Master Chief. His lifts included USS Gridley, USS New Orleans, stints in Afghanistan embedded with a training team, and senior enlisted tours in Korea, Bahrain, 5th Fleet, Pacific Fleet, and Indo‑Pacific Command .

In September 2022, he received the ceremonial cutlass and the title of MCPON, becoming the 16th sailor to hold the proud silver‑anchor‑three‑stars combo . He swaggered to Annapolis, brandishing priorities like warfighting, character development, and quality of life as if they were cocktails at a party .

NEW: The Navy’s top enlisted sailor is retiring a year before the end of his term of office as the @NavyMCPON.

He offers no hint as to what led to the decision in his statement. pic.twitter.com/U0x0ukrGO9

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— Konstantin Toropin (@KToropin) July 22, 2025

Why It’s Time to Go

At first glance, jumping ship in September seems random. But Honea made it clear in his candor-laced announcement: this is his call, his call alone . No scandal, no call from the Pentagon saying “time’s up”, no tenure clock striking midnight—it’s voluntary, personal, inevitable. Hell, after nearly four decades across the briney spectrum—from deckplate sailor to living legend—he’s earned the right to slip quietly into the night.

A Navy Transformed Under His Watch

Honea’s career is a living roadmap of the Navy’s metamorphosis. In 1987, the hulls were still iron-booted relics of the Cold War. Now? Fleets of drones, cyber warfare, and multipolar rivalries chart our course. Sailors are no longer only grunts on deck; they’re code jockeys, drone pilots, cyber engineers—in the thick of the digital maelstrom .

Honea has seen—and tested—their limits. In April, while spending time in Bahrain, he led recruiting drives, celebrated record sign-up numbers not seen since 2002, and didn’t shy away from saying what everyone knows: crewing and fatigue are crushing too many sailors. His tenure as MCPON saw initiatives like “Every Sailor a Recruiter”, a nod to the Navy’s desperate need to fill 20,000 billets at sea—and a cheerleader in chief when contracts soared.

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More than technology, though, Honea pushed hard on quality of life. He whispered and shouted about mental-health care, housing woes, and congressional budgets—all with a swagger that endeared him to the masses. The Role of the MCPON The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy—MCPON for short—is the top dog in the enlisted ranks. This isn’t just another senior chief with time under his belt. He’s the senior-most enlisted sailor in the entire U.S. Navy, handpicked to serve as the go-to advisor for the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chief of Naval Personnel. That means when sailors have something to say—or something to gripe about—it’s the MCPON who carries those concerns straight to the top brass. He’s not some desk-bound figurehead either. The MCPON spends a lot of time on the move, hopping from base to base, talking to sailors and their families, watching training firsthand, and making sure leadership hears what’s really going on out in the fleet. The job is technically a two-year gig, but it can be stretched out if the CNO wants to keep that particular MCPON in the saddle longer. Even though he’s enlisted, the MCPON walks into a room with the protocol weight of a vice admiral. He’s got his own distinct insignia and a badge that leaves no doubt about who he is. This role isn’t ceremonial fluff. It was born out of necessity in 1967, back when Navy leadership finally realized they were out of touch with what sailors were dealing with day to day. Since then, the MCPON’s job has been to bridge that gap—serve as the voice of the enlisted force and make damn sure their needs, frustrations, and ideas don’t get lost in a sea of officer-speak. Simply put, the MCPON is the enlisted sailor’s best shot at getting real change from the top. The Passing of the Cutlass—Who’s Next? With Honea stepping off deck next September, all eyes turn to potential successors. Inside the bubble, speculation points to the Deputy MCPON or a Fleet Master Chief from Indo‑Pacific or Pacific Fleets. Rumor has it: Fleet Master Chief Smitty Tocorzic, whose name popped up in 2021 in Bahrain and Pentagon lunchrooms, is a top contender . Or maybe it will be one of the aggressive Command Master Chiefs pushing modernization from below decks. Hell, perhaps it’ll be an unknown with a blog and a killer Insta—this Navy isn’t the same as it was a few years ago, and neither are their leaders. A Fond Farewell Honea is a weathered chief with salt in his hair and steel in his spine, ready to trade the noise of the fleet for a little peace—but still burning with pride for the sailors coming up behind him. He’s the real deal. A no‑nonsense, old-school deckplate leader who kept pace as the Navy shifted into the digital age. He’s stepping away in a few short weeks, leaving behind a force that’s leaner, tougher, and fit to fight, even as red tape and modern chaos try to slow it down. His retirement is more than another name off the watchbill—it’s a signal flare. The Navy’s changed, but the mission hasn’t. The oath still matters. The anchors still drop. And come fall, someone new will grip that silver cutlass and take the metaphorical conn of today’s Navy.