Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO) Ottaviano ‘Otto’ Cortellessa joined the Italian Marina Militare in April 1989 and is currently serving as a Senior Watchkeeper with CMF.

MCPO is presented with the CMF Enlisted Member in the Spotlight commendation by Commodore Ed Ahlgren, Deputy Commander Combined Maritime Forces (Photo: Lt Nicholas M Stevenson RN)

A wide-ranging career has seen Otto working all over the world, including stints in Belgium with NATO, in Egypt, back home in Italy and now here in Bahrain, and that’s just the past ten years. As a specialist in N6 (communications), Otto’s responsible for maintaining an efficient and accurate flow of information to the Senior Watch Officers and Battle Watch Captains; a 24/7 requirement that’s crucial to the operational success of CMF.

Speaking about his deployment so far, he said; “Here I work in a completely different job than my Italian background. [CMF] is one of the most diverse military working environments, with many different cultures and ways of life.

(L to R:) Commodore Ahlgren, Deputy Commander Combined Maritime Forces; Master Chief Petty Officer Eilco Dol, Netherlands Navy; Master Chief Petty Officer Cortellessa, Marina Militare; Command Master Chief Petty Officer Edward James, Royal Canadian Navy; Captain Lamberto Lamberti, Marina Militare stand together outside CMF Headquarters in Bahrain (Photo: Lt Nicholas M Stevenson RN)

“Most interesting is to be able to experience how other nations work and how they approach stressful situations. And I get to improve my English tremendously!” MCPO Cortellessa will continue his role at CMF through April 2021.