The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) announced its Senior Sailor of the Quarter, Sailor of the Quarter, Junior Sailor of the Quarter and Blue Jacket of the Quarter awardees for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2013.
Air-Traffic Controller 1st Class (AW/SW) Joseph S. Foss, of San Francisco, Senior Sailor of the Quarter; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Elizabeth N. Anderson, of Austin, Texas, Sailor of the Quarter; Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class (SW) Desirae A. Montoya, of Pueblo, Colo., Junior Sailor of the Quarter; and Seaman Apprentice (SW/AW) Christian K. Saastad (SW/AW), of Sacramento, Calif., Blue Jacket of the Quarter, were named on the forward mess decks aboard Nimitz.
“The folks whose names mentioned have gone above and beyond to get nominated by their work centers,” said Capt. Jeff S. Ruth, Nimitz’ commanding officer.
“I was surprised and humbled to be named the Junior Sailor of the Quarter,” said Montoya.
During her tour aboard Nimitz, Montoya has proven herself through hard work.
“I got my ESWS [Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist] pin during the last underway and I’m also the work center supervisor for sick call,” said Montoya. “Being the sick call work center supervisor and making sure everyone is being taken care of is a lot of work.”
Montoya was not the only Sailor from Nimitz’ Medical Department to win an award.
“Since I’ve come on board Nimitz, I’ve had to step outside my comfort zone as a laboratory technician and become more of a general corpsman,” said Anderson.
Like Montoya, Anderson also obtained her ESWS pin last year and went a step further by obtaining her Enlisted Air Warfare Specialist (EAWS) pin as well.
Participating in ship-wide events is also a good way to make Sailors stand out among their peers according to Anderson.
“I participate in a lot of things on the ship,” said Anderson. “I’m the MWR [morale, welfare and recreation] secretary, a multi-cultural committee volunteer and I participate in COMSERVS [community service projects].”
For Foss, none of his day-to-day accomplishments would be possible without the hard work of the junior Sailors that work with him.
“All their hard work makes my job easy,” said Foss.
Like the other awardees, Foss participates in various shipwide events. He also serves in several key leadership roles on board.
“I am the LPO [leading petty officer] for OC division, repair locker seven locker leader, stood on the EAWS board, taught petty officer indoctrination class for two different pay grades, taught a section in indoctrination class on delegation, am a member of DCTT [Damage Control Training Team], participated in several COMSERVs, am the Operations Department mentorship coordinator and a CCA [Carrier Controlled Approach] position controller,” said Foss.
For Saastad, being named Nimitz’ Blue Jacket of the Quarter was just another goal on his list of things to do while on board he can cross off.
“Being Blue Jacket of the Quarter was one of my goals while on board,” said Saastad. “I was Sailor of the Day in November and after that I set my goal of becoming Blue Jacket of the Quarter. My next goal is to become Nimitz’ Blue Jacket of the Year.”
Saastad stood out from his peers to be nominated as Blue Jacket of the Quarter by going above and beyond his duties as an undesignated Seaman.
“I’m the only E-4 or below in my department that is dual qualified,” said Saastad. “I’m also in a leadership position and in charge of four spaces and a crew of people to help me keep the spaces up, which is a position usually reserved for petty officers. I’ve also participated in various COMSERVs and a few burial at sea ceremonies.”
Three of the awardees are planning on furthering their Naval careers by continuing their education and obtaining college degrees in various fields.
Anderson plans on applying for the Navy’s physician assistant program after she completes her bachelor’s degree in health science, while Saastad plans on working toward obtaining a bachelor’s degree in exercise science to eventually become a personal trainer. Montoya plans on completing her associate’s degree during her time aboard Nimitz.
When asked what other Sailors can do to be nominated for a Sailor of the Quarter award, Saastad said the answer is simple: set goals for yourself and work toward those goals.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 7, 2013