Photo By Chief Petty Officer Torrey Lee | SILVERDALE, Wash. — Interior Communications Electrician First Class Jasmine Adamcik,...... read more read more
In 2015, Jasmine Adamcik was a high school senior walking the halls of Pocatello High School in Idaho when something unusual caught her eye: a Navy Sailor, standing on a chair in the middle of the hallway, raising his voice above the noise of the crowd. People streamed around the Sailor, a few catching the words as they made their way to their next class. A few were stopped by his words, wondering what exactly he was talking about. Adamcik was one of them.
It wasn't the first time Adamcik had thought about joining the military. Still, it was the moment that sparked the conversation. He was there, in front of her, and this could be the opportunity she needed to flesh out an idea in her mind.
"I hadn't talked to a recruiter going into my senior year," said Adamcik. "But, he was standing on a chair above everybody, just towering in the hallways, talking about the Navy, and that's when I told him that I was interested, but I wasn't ready to join."
The recruiter told her to just talk to him, come to his office, and chit-chat about what she wanted to do.
She went in that day with her mom and shipped to boot camp just 20 days after graduation.
"I didn't want to stay in Idaho at all because I didn't feel like there was any future there for me," said Adamcik. "I just wanted a different life for myself. I didn't really have the means for college, but I did have an image of what I didn't want for my life. I felt that the Navy would give me the opportunities that I did want for my life, which was a career, and to be financially savvy, have the opportunity to go to school."
Nearly a decade later, Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Jasmine Adamcik has not only built her own future, she's helped others build theirs. Today, as a recruiter at Navy Recruiting Station Silverdale, Washington, Adamcik has earned one of Navy recruiting's rarest distinctions: Centurion, a title recognizing recruiters who successfully enlist 100 or more future Sailors during a single tour.
Adamcik enlisted 102 recruits between May 2021 and March 2025, marking her as the only Centurion currently serving within the Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Pacific Northwest.
Inspired by the Roman military rank, the Centurion title reflects leadership through action, a recognition given only to recruiters who have led at least 100 individuals to commit to Navy service.
"This is one of the highest achievements in Navy recruiting," said Cmdr. Richard Jarchow, commanding officer of NTAG Pacific Northwest. "It takes more than just hard work to reach Centurion. It takes trust, mentorship and the ability to inspire others to believe in their own potential. Petty Officer Adamcik embodies that standard."
Adamcik said she did not set out to reach the milestone.
"I struggled in my first year. I put in seven people in my first nine months, so it was slow. It was very slow in the beginning," said Adamcik. "It was hard going to schools and talking, because I'm a very shy and quiet kind of person. My goal wasn't initially to reach the hundred, but once I started getting close, I wanted the 100."
Part of that learning curve came when the Silverdale station went from five recruiters down to two. The mission didn't change, but the workload did.
"It was just me and my recruiter in charge. I was exclusively the recruiter from Forks to Bremerton," said Adamcik, "That was kind of a crucial moment of either make or break? Either we're going to be successful and we're going to make goal, or it's going to be a failure because I'm the only one. I did everything in my power to make sure that we still made it."
The Pacific Northwest is one of the Navy's largest recruiting regions, covering Washington, Northern Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. With nearly 50,000 Sailors assigned across the region, including some of the Navy's most technical and nuclear programs, the demand for qualified recruits remains high.
"The need to bring in high-quality talent never stops," said Master Chief Navy Counselor Humberto Rocha, NTAG Pacific Northwest's chief recruiter. "We're not just looking for numbers. We're looking for future leaders, future nuclear technicians, future engineers, future Sailors who will stand the watch and carry the mission forward."
Rocha said Adamcik's achievement reflects her individual work ethic and the connection she builds with each recruit.
"She leads with honesty," Rocha said. "She doesn't sugarcoat anything, and that's why people trust her. She helps every applicant figure out whether this path is right for them, and if it is, she makes sure they're ready."
Adamcik credits much of her success to one simple principle: helping each future Sailor identify their why.
"I remember in boot camp, the RDCs tell you to remember your why; 'why are you here?' Because when there are days that you want to quit, you have remember your why, and it's something that pushes you past what you feel like you can do," said Adamcik.
She recalled one recruit who nearly backed out of shipping to boot camp a month before departure. The young future Sailor had second thoughts, worried about leaving behind her boyfriend and their marriage plans.
"It's always the boyfriend," Adamcik joked. "But I reminded her why she came into my office in the first place. I told her, your life doesn't stop because you go to boot camp. You're still you. And you can still have those things later. But don't give up on your own goals."
The recruit shipped as planned.
Adamcik quickly dismisses the idea that recruiting is about making a sale.
"We're not selling dreams," she said. "We are getting to know everybody and helping them create a future for themselves. We're giving them the building blocks for themselves, because this is their decision."
Many of her recruits have come from technical backgrounds or pursue technical roles, including the nuclear field, electronics, corpsman, and IT contracts.
"I relate to a lot of those jobs because I've worked alongside them in the fleet," said Adamcik, an interior communications electrician. "I try not to focus on bonuses or money, I want people to find purpose in what they're doing and be proud of the path they choose."
Adamcik emphasizes that the Navy's technical career fields remain a major draw for young people interested in high-demand, transferable skills.
"The Navy offers unmatched opportunities in nuclear power, advanced electronics, engineering, medical fields, cyber warfare, and so much more," Jarchow said. "These are not just jobs, they are careers that build leaders."
For Adamcik, the impact of her work extends beyond her recruits. It also changed the course of her own family.
"My little sister was working two dead-end jobs that were going nowhere, and she couldn't pay her rent," Adamcik recalled. "I didn't approach the subject because it was sensitive, and I felt like eventually she would come up and say, 'Hey.' And she did. She called me and said, 'I don't want to live in Idaho anymore. I don't want to work these crappy jobs,' and asked me to put her in the Navy."
Adamcik not only helped her sister enlist but also enlisted her sister's partner. Both now serve as ITs stationed in San Diego.
"It's one thing to talk about helping people change their lives, but to help your own family do it? That's pretty incredible," she said. "We as recruiters are the first introduction to the Navy. Even if a person has family who served, we're the ones who show them what this life can be. If we make that a good experience, I think they have a better chance at a positive future."
For Jarchow, Adamcik's achievement stands as an example of leadership in action.
"Recruiting is about people," Jarchow said. "Petty Officer Adamcik didn't just meet a benchmark, she made a lasting impact on the lives of the Sailors she brought into this service. That's the true mark of a Centurion."
As Adamcik prepares to close out her recruiting tour and return to the fleet, she leaves behind more than a wall of Polaroid portraits. She leaves a legacy built on trust, mentorship, and purpose, helping 102 future Sailors take their first step toward service. The Centurion title is not about the number; it's about the lives behind it.
In one of the Navy's largest recruiting regions, where demand for high-quality talent remains constant, Adamcik's achievement reminds her peers that success in recruiting isn't measured in contracts alone; it's measured in the futures built and the leaders forged along the way. Her work echoes the mission of the Navy Talent Acquisition Group Pacific Northwest: to find the next generation of Sailors and help them discover their why.
The Navy Talent Acquisition Group Pacific Northwest manages over 34 enlisted and officer recruiting stations throughout Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The command's mission is to recruit the next generation of warrior Sailors from the Pacific Northwest, focusing on high-quality candidates who will enhance America's Navy's readiness and inspire future leadership.
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2025 14:18 |
| Story ID: | 497299 |
| Location: | SILVERDALE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | POCATELLO, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Centurion of the Pacific Northwest: Silverdale Recruiter Earns Rare Centurion Honor After Enlisting 102 Future Sailors, by CPO Torrey Lee, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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