Joint base lieutenant acknowledged as ambassador, example to women everywhere

Photo By Paul Bello | Navy Lt. Sarah Ursetti, assistant public works officer at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), was recently honored with the 2013 Capt. Joy Bright Hancock Leadership Award.  

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES

11.01.2013

Story by Paul Bello 

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

WASHINGTON - Navy Lt. Sarah Ursetti, who came to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) last year as its assistant public works officer, was honored recently with the 2013 Capt. Joy Bright Hancock Leadership Award.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 in Port Huenene, Calif., her previous command, nominated her for the award, which acknowledges those who create a positive environment for fellow service members while also fostering an integration of women in the armed forces.

During her last command, Ursetti was officer in charge of a detachment in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, from February to August 2012. She led a group of 25 Navy Seabees on a humanitarian construction project in that city that culminated in the building of a new school for approximately 200 students.

“It was an incredibly humbling experience being over there. Certainly one of the most rewarding times in my career so far,” Ursetti said. “We have a tendency to take things for granted here in the U.S. Over there, a school building with clean, working bathrooms is quite an accomplishment. I learned to appreciate what we have in our society even more.”

The only female with the Seabees at the time, Ursetti also volunteered an additional 200 hours at a female orphanage. There she played games with girls ages 5-18 and worked with them on their English, math and writing skills.

“They’re not used to seeing a woman in uniform, so it made that experience all the more meaningful,” Ursetti said. “If anything, I hope it inspires them to think about the possibilities in their own lives. Anything is possible.”

Originally commissioned from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 2008, Ursetti went on to become a civil engineer after initially having aspirations of being a pilot. She finds the work challenging and personally rewarding. She previously worked at Balboa Hospital at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego from August 2009 to June 2011.

In her present position at JBAB, she is responsible for rewriting the joint building manager program, in which each facility on base has a liaison to help streamline communications to the Public Works Department. Since coming aboard, she considers JBAB to be an immense training ground where she can learn more and expand her abilities.

“Lt. Ursetti is an outstanding leader in the Navy who always accomplishes the mission with exceptional results,” said Chief Warrant Officer Raymond Walker, a colleague who worked with her at Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3. “She is a model officer whose enthusiasm and dedication are infectious throughout her command, the Seabee community and the Navy.”

• Date Taken: 11.01.2013
• Date Posted: 11.01.2013 13:02
• Story ID: 116154
• Location: WASHINGTON, DC, US