CID Announces Domain Sailor of the Year

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The Commanding Officer of the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Capt. Susan K. Cerovsky announced the CID domain Sailor of the Year (SOY) Oct. 26.

Intelligence Specialist 1st Class (IDW/SW/AW) Johnetta L. Heckard, an "A" school and "C" school Intelligence Specialist (IS) instructor at Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center (NMITC), based at Dam Neck, Va., is the CID domain-wide SOY.

She will now move on to the next level of competition where she will represent CID for consideration as the Naval Education and Training Command 2012 Sailor of the Year.

Heckard said she was surprised and humbled at being selected as the CID domain SOY.

"I was definitely shocked to hear I won CID Sailor of the Year," Heckard said. "I definitely didn't see that coming."

She credited her success in the Navy to her mentors and shipmates, and especially to her mother, who gave her the motivation to always strive to seek excellence.

"My success has really been a team effort, which includes the Chiefs Mess, my fellow instructors, our students, and the Navy for giving me so many training opportunities," Heckard said. "I pretty much get all my motivation from my Mom, who wanted me to always do the right thing and to always take care of business."

NMITC Commanding Officer Capt. William Kotheimer Jr. had high praise for the hard-charging 1st Class Petty Officer whom he selected as the NMITC SOY.

"This represents the hard work and dedication of Petty Officer Heckard, as well as all those that have supported her," Kotheimer said.

Heckard, a native of Toledo, Ohio, joined the Navy through the Delayed Entry Program, and completed basic training at Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Ill., in Dec. 2002.

Heckard then reported to the USS Peleliu (LHA 5), homeported in San Diego, Calif., in Jan. 2003 as an undesignated Seaman. She completed all required qualifications, including Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) and Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS), becoming the first of two dual-qualified undesignated Seaman on Peleliu, and later advanced to Personnel Support Specialist 3rd Class.

Heckard later transferred to Personnel Support Detachment (PSD) Afloat West in San Diego, where she worked as a customer service clerk, separations clerk and transfers clerk. While at PSD, she submitted a package to cross rate to Intelligence Specialist and in April 2008 attended Intelligence Specialist Class "A" and "C" schools at NMITC.

After graduating in Oct. 2008, she reported to USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), homeported in San Diego. While there, Heckard advanced to Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class, and also attended Navy Career Counselor School. In June 2010, she was recognized as the Junior Sailor of Quarter and Junior Sailor of the Year.

In May 2011, she reported to NMITC. In addition to her instructor duties, Heckard is the command Leading Petty Officer and the Assistant Command Fitness Leader (ACFL).

As an instructor, she led the successful training of 195 students executing 5,700 hours of intelligence instruction. Additionally, as the ACFL, Heckard led more than 150 hours of physical training resulting in a Physical Readiness Test pass rate of 98 percent.

As the Petty Officer Indoctrination Program Coordinator, Heckard led a cadre of 60 instructors through the training program. Under her guidance, the program trained 469 prospective 3rd Class Petty Officers within a six-month period. Her involvement in this program increased the level of readiness for 99 percent of accession level Intelligence Specialists for advancement to the next rank.

"I'm thankful for the experience; it's been amazing," Heckard said. "If I could offer my shipmates any advice it would be keep your nose to the grindstone, stay positive, and stay away from negative people."

Former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt and former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Whittet established the SOY program in 1972 to recognize the best all-around Sailors from the ranks of E-4 through E-6. Within 10 years, the Sailor of the Year program was expanded to include the shore establishment and Navy Reserve Sailors.

"By her unswerving determination, wise judgment and complete dedication to duty, Petty Officer Heckard reflected credit upon herself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service and the true spirit of the Sailor of the Year program," Kotheimer said.

CID is the Navy's Learning Center that leads, manages and delivers Navy and Joint Force training in information operations, information warfare, information technology, cryptology and intelligence.

With a staff of nearly 1,300 military, civilian and contracted staff members, CID oversees the development and administration of more than 226 courses at four commands, two detachments and 14 learning sites throughout the United States and in Japan. CID provides training for approximately 24,000 members of the U.S. Armed Services and Allied Forces each year.

For more news from Center for Information Dominance, visit www.navy.mil/local/corry/.