A Eunice native was promoted this month to the highest enlisted member rank of the U.S. Navy.

About 1 percent of the Navy’s enlisted personnel attain the rank of Master Chief. They now include AOCM (AW/SW) Voris J. Soileau, promoted as aviation ordnanceman Master Chief Petty Officer on June 5.

He is a 1983 graduate of Eunice High School and of the University of Management and Technology with a B.S. in information technology.

Soileau, son of the late Eldora Bellard and brother of Dr. Alsan Bellard, Stacy Bellard and Troy Bellard, enlisted in the navy in July 1988 and plans to complete 30 years of service.

He is currently assigned to Patrol Squadron Eight (VP-8 FIGHTING TIGERS) out of Jacksonville, Fla., and deployed to provide combat-ready aircrews to executive missions in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South’s counter narcotics mission.

Bellard serves as the Maintenance Control Master Chief and Senior Enlisted Advisor, leading more than 100 sailors in scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of four P-3C Orion aircraft.

VP-8’s mission history goes back to World War II, when the squadron flew anti-submarine patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic.

In the years since, it has engaged in the Vietnam War, and Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom .

During this career, Soileau has made deployments of the carriers USS CORAL SEA(CV-43), USS FORRESTAL (CV-59), USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN-74)and USS KITTY HAWK (CV-63).

He was stationed in Japan from July 2002 to August 2009 where he served on the USS KITTY HAWK during Operation Iraqi Freedom and also served as the Senior Chief Petty Officer in Charge of the NMC Atsugi Weapons Department in Atsugi, Japan.