Awarding Those Who Serve

Courtesy Photo | Petty Officer 1st Class Raafia Ali, yeoman, prepares 37 medals and ribbons to be presented prior to a Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command awards ceremony at Naval Support Activity, Bahrain. As the command's awards division leading petty officer, Ali processes 40- 50 award submissions daily for the 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason T.Poplin, mass communication specialist)  

MANAMA, BAHRAIN

05.27.2010

Courtesy Story

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet           

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason T. Poplin

MANAMA, Bahrain - There are thousands of service members working in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility and as many as 200 of them get recognized with military awards and decorations, such as medals and ribbons, every month.

Official awards recognize service and personal accomplishments, and are a means to outwardly display the highlights of a service member's career. Processing those awards for U.S. Fifth Fleet is the responsibility of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's awards leading petty officer, Yeoman 1st Class Raafia Ali.

"It's very rewarding because we're not just covering our command here in Bahrain - we process awards for personnel serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and units operating in the Arabian Gulf," said Ali, who works in the command's administration office. "I feel very proud to be a part of it."

Ali supervises three junior sailors in generating a variety of medals, ribbons and letters of commendation and appreciation, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, among others.

"Every day we receive as many as 40 - 50 award submissions and we process them as fast as we can while doing them right," said Ali.

It's a challenging job, said Ali, whose team also processes awards for other branches of the U.S. and foreign militaries.

Ali's willingness to take those challenges head-on has earned the esteem of her peers and supervisors.

"She's a dedicated sailor who checked on board and hit the deck plates running," said Chief Yeoman Ronald Fiveash, the administration department's leading chief petty officer. "She brings a lot to the division and for her dedication, work ethic and skill, she was nominated for sailor of the Quarter when she had only been here for 60 days."

Ali was born in Pakistan and has lived in Egypt, Yemen, Thailand, Florida, Texas and California. She reported to the command from Naval Station Everett, Wash., in January.

"I love working on awards because it's not just paperwork," said Ali. "It's really important to recognize people who are out there risking their lives, and processing these awards makes me feel like I'm part of the team."

• Date Taken: 05.27.2010
• Date Posted: 05.31.2010 11:28
• Story ID: 50589
• Location: MANAMA, BH