Courtesy Photo | Seaman Apprentice Isaiah Dewberry graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training...... read more read more
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GREAT LAKES (NNS) – Seaman Apprentice Isaiah Dewberry graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes, earning the Military Excellence Award (MEA) July 2, 2026.
Dewberry, 26, of Columbus, Ohio, said the honor was as much his division's as it was his own.
"Receiving the MEA is a complete honor, and I'm beyond grateful to end my time at RTC Great Lakes and start my Navy career with it," Dewberry said. "When I found out, I was shocked, because there were other fine recruits in my division who were just as deserving. I believe in my heart that Division 261 won this award as a team."
The Military Excellence Award is presented to the recruit who best demonstrates enthusiasm, devotion to duty, military bearing and teamwork throughout training. As part of the recognition, recipients receive a flag letter of commendation.
Dewberry credited the achievement to a standard his division held collectively, not just to his own effort.
"All of this was possible because of the recruits in my division and the level of accountability we held each other to, day in and day out," he said. "This award inspires me to keep chasing more accomplishments throughout my time in the Navy."
At 26, Dewberry came to RTC with more life behind him than most of his fellow recruits. After Grove City High School, he spent years working construction, moving between job sites and crews. That experience, he said, did more to prepare him for boot camp than anything else could have.
"Working construction jobs and long hours since high school helped me through this whole process," Dewberry said. "Being on new job sites with new crews, meeting all kinds of people, traveling away from home for weeks on end. None of that was much of a culture shock for me. Where I lay my head is home. I learned how to adapt while still remaining who I am, and how to read a room."
That same instinct to read people carried him through the hardest adjustment of training: surrendering control over his own schedule for the first time in years.
"The biggest challenge for me was adapting to my RDCs' schedule and boot camp as a whole," he said. "It's no longer what you want to do, when you want to do it. That's a sacrifice that can go unnoticed. I got through it by remembering that everyone around me was going through the same thing, and by remembering why I was here."
Why he was here came down to one person.
"I'd had the urge for years as a civilian to serve something bigger than myself, not just for my life but for my country," Dewberry said. "There's also the camaraderie that comes from being around like-minded, ambitious people. But the most important reason is my son. Setting up the best future possible for him is worth fighting for."
His RDCs, Senior Chief Paul Bergen, Petty Officer 1st Class Cristian Lazaro, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Garrett Jarvis, set the standard he tried to meet every day.
"Looking at them, knowing they were once in our shoes, and seeing the rank on their chest, was enough inspiration on its own," he said. "I respect them all equally. They didn't just push us to become better men. They pushed us to become excellent future Sailors."
Dewberry also leaned on a smaller circle outside the demands of training: the friends he attended chapel service with twice a week.
“It was a breath of fresh air, and gave me the chance to recalibrate back to the ethics and morals that are important to me," he said.
Following graduation, Dewberry will head to San Diego, California, for follow-on training.
Training at RTC is approximately nine weeks long, and all enlistees in the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp.
| Date Taken: | 12.31.1969 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2026 10:35 |
| Story ID: | 569138 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Dewberry Earns Military Excellence Award at Recruit Training Command, by Marc Lindsay, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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