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    Chief of Navy Reserve Announces Top Sailor

    UNITED STATES

    04.12.2018

    Courtesy Story

    Commander, Navy Reserve Force   

    By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Stephen Hickok, Joint Public Affairs Support Element

    WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy Reserve Sailor of the Year for 2017 was announced during a ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial April 12.

    Engineman 1st Class Brandon Lovell was selected from four Sailors as the winner after a week-long selection-board process and schedule of events and ceremony held in recognition of the finalist’s exceptional performance.

    “I want to thank these folks off to my left, all well deserving of this award,” said Lovell motioning to the other three RSOY finalists on stage with him during the ceremony.

    Lovell, representing Navy Reserve Surgemain Houston in Houston, Texas, toured the Pentagon, Washington D.C. and met with senior Navy leadership alongside his fellow finalists including Master-at-Arms 1st Class Ian Barton, representing Navy Operational Center Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee; Legalman 1st Class Cynthia Hunter, representing Navy Region Northwest Reserve Component Command in Everett, Washington; and Yeoman 1st Class Antonio Ross, representing Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 56 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

    “I have been humbled and honored and blessed to spend the week with them and I know we’ve started some lifelong friendships,” Lovell said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a week and we have absorbed so much mentorship, leadership training and experiences.”

    Chief of Navy Reserve Vice Adm. Luke McCollum announced the winner at the ceremony and remarked on the similarities between the finalists and the rest of the 59,000 Reserve Sailors he leads.

    “Today we’re celebrating the accomplishments of these individuals,” McCollum said. “I have had a great week interacting with them and as I talked with them I found two things they had in common — high spirits and high determination. They are the representation of those 59,000. I saw what they stand for, what they give up, but the thing that stands out is their determination and desire to serve.”

    Along with the tours and events, a selection-board including five master chiefs, chaired by Navy Reserve Force Master Chief Chris Kotz, interviewed, compared and screened the finalists to make their selection.

    The process was the final step narrowing down the finalists from fifteen sailor of the year packages from regional headquarters across the Navy Reserve.

    “Those 15 packages are meticulously screened and distilled down,” said Kotz. “I had the distinct privilege of reading the caliber of those 15, and I am not sure if I would have made the cut.”

    Each of the finalists received Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals during the ceremony. Lovell will return to the Navy Memorial next month for the Chief of Naval Operations Sailor of the Year week to be meritoriously advanced to chief petty officer.

    For Lovell, RSOY is just the beginning.

    “It would be a mistake to chalk this up as the finish line,” Lovell said. “I think we’re all looking at this as a charge to take this out to the fleet and step it up to become the chiefs our Sailors and Navy need us to be and develop the next generation of leaders. It’s a call to get to work and turn two.

    Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Jack Whittet initiated the Sailor of the Year program in 1972 to recognize outstanding Atlantic and Pacific Fleet Sailors. The program was later expanded to honor the top Shore and Reserve Force Sailors of the Year.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.12.2018
    Date Posted: 04.13.2018 10:27
    Story ID: 272962
    Location: US

    Web Views: 151
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN