Navy Junior Ship Handler of The Year Welcomes New Challenge

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Camilo E Fernan | Lt. Ben Pedersen, the U.S. Navy 2022 Junior Ship Handler of the Year, poses for a portrait photo at Recruit Training Command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Camilo Fernan)  

GREAT LAKES, IL, UNITED STATES

03.01.2022

Story by Alan Nunn      

U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command

GREAT LAKES (NNS) — Ben Pedersen’s first visit to Recruit Training Command (RTC) came in 2009 with the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

He’s recently returned to the Navy’s only boot camp as Lt. Ben Pedersen, the U.S. Navy’s Junior Ship Handler of the Year (JOSH).

Pedersen is assigned as a ship’s officer at RTC, following his tour as a navigator on board USS Patriot (MCM 7), forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan.

“Receiving the award is really all the people who supported me throughout my Navy career, especially the wardroom and crew on the Patriot,” Pedersen said. “They are truly the hardest working group with whom I’ve ever worked. They showed me what it means to put in hard work and effort, and are an inspiration as well. All the credit goes to them, because driving ships is just not one man; it’s the whole crew that makes it possible.”

Pedersen, from Johnsburg, Illinois, graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri’s Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program with a degree in nutrition and exercise physiology. He commissioned in 2016 and began his journey through the surface warfare officer pipeline.

“The Junior Ship Handler of the Year is a significant award in the surface warfare officer community and a point of pride for those officers in which that recognition is bestowed,” RTC Executive Officer, Commander Stephanie Hayes said. “It’s impressive that one of our ship’s officers, Lt. Pedersen, is the Navy-wide winner. It is amazing that RTC receives the benefit of his presence and that he will be an example for our recruits and future Sailors to emulate. I am glad he will be able to share his experience and the command is fortunate to have another high-performing junior officer joining the ranks as a ship’s officer, leading our Sailors and responsible for the welfare and training of our recruits."

Pedersen’s Navy JOSH achievement was the culmination of seven months of competition, winning at the squadron and Pacific Fleet level before last year’s two-day final in Newport, Rhode Island. His final test came against Atlantic Fleet JOSH, Lt. Matthew Bain, with whom he attended navigation school.

“They evaluated us on bridge management, how we’re controlling the ship coming off the pier, and how smoothly we land with all the elemental factors like wind and currents,” Pedersen said.

Pedersen first learned he qualified for the final in Newport during a difficult time for his family. His father had suffered a stroke and Pedersen returned on emergency leave to his parents’ Illinois home to help in his father’s recovery.

“I got a call from the Patriot executive officer and commanding officer telling me I wasn’t going straight back to Japan,” Pedersen said. “They said I had won at the fleet level and that I was going to Newport to compete. I remember seeing my dad’s eyes light up. I was taken aback at seeing how proud my dad was, and with my mom there as well, it was so meaningful. Just to come back, and share that with my family, that meant so much more.”

Now that Pedersen is assigned to RTC, about a 45-minute drive from his parents’ home, he can continue to assist in his father’s recovery.

“It is surreal to come full circle and be here as a ship’s officer,” Pedersen said. “I was in Sea Cadets during high school and trained here. Working with Sailors really inspired me to join the Navy.”

He is ready to put his experience to use in his new challenge at RTC.

“What I've learned as an officer at sea is attention to detail and the scope of what your job entails,” Pedersen said. “Transforming civilians into Sailors is an amazing experience. It’s very rewarding to give them the best training and put all your efforts into it.”

Boot camp training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. About 40,000 recruits graduate annually from RTC and begin their Navy careers.

• Date Taken: 03.01.2022
• Date Posted: 03.01.2022 10:00
• Story ID: 415508
• Location: GREAT LAKES, IL, US