New Command Chief Petty Officer

CPO1 Tom Riefesel, left, outgoing Command Chief Petty Officer; Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, centre, Commander RCN; and CPO1 Michel Vigneault, newly appointed Command Chief Petty Officer; sit together after signing the Change of Appointment certificate. Photo by Corporal (Cpl) Michael MacIsaac

CPO1 Tom Riefesel, left, outgoing Command Chief Petty Officer; Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, centre, Commander RCN; and CPO1 Michel Vigneault, newly appointed Command Chief Petty Officer; sit together after signing the Change of Appointment certificate. Photo by Corporal (Cpl) Michael MacIsaac

Darlene Blakeley, Navy Public Affairs Ottawa ~

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has a new Command Chief Petty Officer.

Chief Petty Officer First Class Michel Vigneault took over the position from CPO1 Tom Riefesel during a Change of Appointment ceremony in Ottawa on Aug. 17.

The Command Chief Petty Officer is the RCN’s senior non-commissioned sailor. His primary role is to provide the Commander of the RCN with the non-commissioned member’s (NCM) perspective on behalf of all NCMs.

In addition, the Command Chief is the senior NCM advisor on dress, discipline, professional development, administration, morale, training, welfare, conditions of service and quality of life.

Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd, Commander RCN, was quick to praise the outgoing Command Chief. “CPO1 Riefesel has managed to provide yeoman’s service to not one, not two, but now three RCN Commanders – all of whom have benefited from his insight and his leadership abilities,” he said.

Following the ceremony CPO1 Riefesel was promoted to lieutenant-commander and will continue working with the RCN at the Personnel Coordination Centre.

As he handed over his position, CPO1 Riefesel was eloquent in his comments on leadership: “The most powerful way to cultivate and nurture a positive culture is by what our leaders do – our actions create and define it. That strong and healthy end-state is founded in trust, respect and dignity for one another, without exception.”

VAdm Lloyd also praised CPO1 Vigneault, noting that “he is an exceptional leader whose experiences across the RCN over his career have made him an ideal Command Chief Petty Officer. I am very much looking forward to energizing the institution with him.”

As he assumes his new duties, CPO1 Vigneault said he is “humbled and honoured” to be selected as the RCN’s 19th Command Chief.

“I feel the appointment of the RCN Command Chief is very important,” he said. “As the most senior non-commissioned sailor I am in a unique position to signal the Commander’s intent down to our most junior sailors. In turn, by meeting regularly with them, I am able to provide the Commander with a report on the pulse of our sailors and their families on the various issues and policies that affect them.”

CPO1 Vigneault was born and raised in the Magdalen Islands, Que., and joined the RCN in June 1984 as a naval signalman. In July 1985, he joined his first ship, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Huron, and subsequently served on Protecteur, Algonquin, Gatineau, Fredericton, Nipigon, Montréal and St. John’s, and at several shore establishments. Promoted to his current rank in 2009, CPO1 Vigneault was posted to Ottawa as the career manager for the naval communicators occupation. In 2010 he studied for a year at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., as part of the Knowledge Acquisition Programme, on completion of which he was appointed coxswain of HMCS Montréal in June 2011. He served as Pacific Fleet Chief Petty Officer from July 2013 to July 2016.

CPO1 Vigneault was inducted into the Order of Military Merit in 2013.

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