USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) announced that 122 Sailors were selected for promotion through the Meritorious Advancement Program (MAP), July 16, 2018.

The Sailors selected came from various departments around the ship and were immediately promoted in front of their peers following a surprise announcement of an all-hands call by Capt. Paul C. Spedero, the ship's commanding officer.

"I'm extremely happy for the Sailors that were selected today and their families," said Spedero. "One of the best things I get to do as a commanding officer is recognize fantastic performance. This is a great day."

The MAP program is intended to give commanding officers the opportunity to recognize their best Sailors by advancing them when they are ready for the next level of responsibility which allows them to better shape their workforce and the Navy, by developing and rewarding what they deem as valuable to the command.

"I think the command is uniquely qualified to judge the performance and the potential of individual Sailors," said Spedero.

Each department from the ship submitted application packages of their Sailors whom they felt held a higher level of responsibility and were ready for the next paygrade. Those Sailors were then reviewed by a board.

"Picking which Sailors would be meritoriously advanced was a two-and-a-half-week process from start to finish," said Master Chief Naval Counselor Crystal Webb. "It is great to earn a promotion from the advancement exam, but it is also huge when the chain of command recognizes great Sailors as assets to the team."

Selected Sailors at the all-hands call were excited about hearing their name over the loud speaker.

"When my name was called I was really surprised," said Machinist's Mate 1st Class Keaira Davis. "I'm about to leave the Ike so being able to come here, my first command, and then leave as a first class is a pretty amazing feeling."

Ike is currently undergoing a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard during the maintenance phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP).

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit www.navy.mil/.