Ensign Joseph Aiello
Commanding Officer
Joe has been involved with the Sea Cadet Program since September 2024.
While never having served in the military, Joe has had the profound honor of being a student of 4 former military leaders:
Major John Douglas Perry - United States Marine Corps (deceased)
Lance Corporal Sherman Harrill - United States Marine Corps (deceased)
Master Sergeant Tu Lam - United States Army Special Forces (retired)
Senior Weapons Sergeant Kyle Josephson - United States Army Special Forces (retired)
Joe has been teaching the combative arts in one form or another to both children and adults for the last 44 years. With experience in martial arts of several disciplines to firearms instructor for both civilian and military personnel, Joe's dedication to constant improvement and the seeking of perfection is what drives his mentality for helping his students overcome challenges on the field and in everyday life.
This concept is known in Asian culture as "Kaizen", which means "1% Better Everyday".
*FUN FACT: Joe competed in the 1988 Junior Olympics and won a gold and bronze medal for the USA National Karate Team.
MEET OUR LEADERS
Lieutenant Jr. Grade Edward Chartier
Executive Officer
From Sea Cadet to Submariner:
For Edward Chartier of Waterford, Connecticut, the path to becoming a U.S. Navy submariner began years before he put on a Navy uniform.
Chartier joined the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps while in fifth grade, becoming a member of the Groton
Division in Connecticut. He spent approximately eight years in the program and rose through the ranks to Chief Petty Officer, one of the highest achievements for a Sea Cadet.
“I joined the Sea Cadets when I was in the fifth grade, and this helped my decision to join the military and establish my values,” Chartier said. Those years helped prepare Chartier for service in the U.S. Navy. He went on to become a machinist’s mate aboard the fast-attack submarine USS San Juan, where he completed the demanding qualification process required to earn the Enlisted Submarine Warfare insignia, commonly known as “dolphins.”
The achievement had an especially meaningful connection to his Sea Cadet years. Robert Smith, Chartier’s former Sea Cadet commanding officer and a retired Navy submariner, was there to pin Chartier’s dolphins during a ceremony at the submarine’s pier.
Smith presented Chartier with the same set of dolphins that had been given to him and used when he
qualified as a submariner in 1983—passing more than three decades of submarine heritage to his former Sea Cadet.
For Chartier, the moment represented both the beginning of his Navy career and the culmination of years of preparation that started in the Sea Cadet program.
“This is a great way to start my career,” Chartier said. His journey from a fifth-grade Sea Cadet to a Navy submariner demonstrates how the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps can help young people develop the leadership, discipline, values, and commitment needed to succeed in military service and beyond.
*FUN FACT: Chief Chartier collects Starbucks mugs from all the locations he's been, including as far away as Spain, Scotland, and Cyprus!
A dedicated collective of visionaries, educators, industry professionals and community advocates committed to helping your cadets learn and grow into capable and responsible young leaders.
Ensign Alexandria Wilkinson
Division Officer
Pamela Guidi
Medical Officer
Patricia Pearce
Finance Officer
Ana Aiello
Public Affairs Officer
Michael Babjak
Training Instructor
Auxiliary