The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) announced the Blue Jacket and Sailors of the Year for 2016 in November.

Petty Officer 1st Class La'keisha Moye, Petty Officer 2nd Class Shandra McGuire, Petty Officer 3rd Class Samantha Ramos, and Seaman Timothy Parrott were selected as Senior Sailor, Sailor, Junior Sailor, and Blue Jacket of the Year, respectively.

The method of selecting honorees begins within each department where Sailors are nominated by members of their leadership team. Those nominated are then evaluated against Sailors from other departments within their bracket. Finalists from these evaluations present themselves before a board of senior Sailors. The finalists are judged on topics such as professional military knowledge, leadership, military bearing, appearance, and current events.

With as many people as we have on an aircraft carrier, the competition is very tough, said Master Chief Petty Officer James Tocorzic, GW's command master chief. We've got a lot of great Sailors, so to be singled out really says something about those individuals. The Sailor of the Year program is a great way to recognize those who really stand out.

The Sailor of the Year program recognizes Sailors from each paygrade, from Senior Sailor of the Year, which is awarded to E-6 personnel and above, to Blue Jacket of the Year, which is E-3 and below. The recipients of the award are usually performing at a level above their paygrade.

Seaman Parrott sets the bar for his peers, said Petty Officer 1st Class Myren Fripp, Parrott's leading petty officer. His experience and knowledge has been an invaluable asset to the success of the department.

Sailors like Parrott can be motivated by their mentors to succeed farther in their careers.

Regardless of what everyone's goals are, the cheat code to getting there is in our senior Sailors' heads, said Parrott. It's just a matter of engaging them, asking questions, and putting forth the initiative for whatever it is that we want to accomplish.

Along with their own hard work and dedication, all of the recipients agreed that the team around them greatly contributed to their success. If it wasn't for my junior Sailors, I wouldn't be where I am today, said McGuire. I am a representation of and a voice for them.

Commands recognize a Senior Sailor, Sailor, Junior Sailor and Blue Jacket of the Year, every year. Every Sailor has the opportunity to be chosen.

My advice to other Sailors is to try to give 110 percent, said Ramos. Stay motivated and don't give up. The first advice I received when I checked into Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) in 2014 was, "don't let yourself get comfortable." With that, I continue to strive for more, to better myself, and to never stop pushing.

The Sailor of the Year program was established in 1972 by the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Whittet to recognize Sailors who best represented the ever-growing group of dedicated professional Sailors at each command and ultimately the Navy.

The Senior Sailors chosen at their command compete at the next level. Moye, as GW's Senior Sailor of the Year, will compete with other aircraft carrier Sailors as part of Commander, U.S. Naval Air Force Atlantic's 2016 Sailor of the Year competition.

Join the conversation with GW online at http://www.facebook.com/USSGW and http://www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73. For more news from USS George Washington, visit http://www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.



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