The Center for Security Forces (CENSECFOR) announced its 2015 selection for Sailor of the Year (SOY) Oct. 28.

CENSECFOR Commanding Officer, Capt. Raymond Benedict, hailed all hands to join him in congratulating Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (SCW/SW) Julio Medina on being selected as Sailor of the Year.

Medina, a native of El Paso, Texas, is stationed at CENSECFOR Learning Site Mayport where he serves as senior medical representative.

"Though assigned to our learning site in a supporting role, this Sailor of the Year showed tremendous initiative to also qualify as an instructor and earned his designation as a master training specialist. He also assumed duties as a course supervisor and leading petty officer in addition to other collateral duties. This remarkable performance was all accomplished in addition to the normal scope of his assigned training support billet," said Benedict.

Medina shared what it means to him both personally and professionally to be selected as SOY.

"First, I have to be thankful to my heavenly Father because without his guidance, grace, and love I would not have such a great support team or the talents and traits to be who I am," said Medina. "It is an honor and a very humbling experience and personally I feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to see my hard work pay off. Professionally I am excited to lead from the front as I have always been an advocate for leadership by example."

In addition to his primary duty, Medina also serves as an instructor for the Navy's Non-Compliant Boarding - Visit, Board, Search and Seizure Boarding Officer course. The course is designed to teach Fleet boarding teams the skills necessary to conduct safe and effective ship boardings at sea.

Medina also said that being SOY carries an added sense of responsibility to live up to the expectations of a motivated Sailor. One who understands and lives daily by the Navy's core values both in and out of uniform.

Asked what he viewed as being his next career milestone Medina replied, "My next career milestone is being selected for chief petty officer. That has been a dream of mine since my first encounter with "The Chief's Mess" on my first ship. I have always had outstanding chiefs who cared enough to push me hard to excel and lead, and I am doing everything possible to soak in every ounce of experience they have to offer."

"Be a leader and focus on the success of your troops, not your own. Humble yourself and take in the advice and insight from our Navy leaders. Look up the selection board precepts and set your goals according to what the Navy expects from a first class petty officer seeking selection to chief. Lastly, surround yourself with motivated individuals who want to see you succeed and always be grateful for your support team. Always do your best at everything, take nothing for granted, and assume everyone you meet has something to offer," Medina said offering advice to his fellow Sailors in the Fleet.

He enlisted in the Navy at the age of 22 after completing a two-year volunteer mission trip to Honduras. His career assignments have been wide-ranging starting with USS Reuben James (FFG 57) and Naval Hospital Jacksonville. During his tenure at the hospital, he deployed with a joint task force to work detainee operations at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay. Serving as an independent duty corpsman in the nations of Romania, Spain, Germany and Guam are also part of his naval career dossier.

Medina extended his appreciation to his wife, who he cites as being his biggest supporter, best friend and the best thing that ever happened to him. He also expressed appreciation to his children, his mother and two brothers and gave special tribute to his late father.

"My father is the greatest man I have ever known and I want to dedicate my selection to him because I earned it doing exactly what he would expect of me-thank you dad," said Medina.

Medina will now advance to the next round of competition where he will compete against the best of the best throughout the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) domain for the elite title of NETC 2015 Sailor of the Year.

The NETC SOY program recognizes Sailors who exhibit sustained superior performance, leadership, self-improvement, command and community involvement and military bearing. It is open to Sailors in the ranks of E-4, E-5 and E-6 who served in the NETC domain during the calendar year.

The Center for Security Forces provides specialized training to more than 28,000 students each year. It has 14 training locations across the United States and around the world where training breeds confidence.

For more information about the Center for Security Forces, visit www.navy.mil/local/csf.

For more news from the Center for Security Forces, go to www.navy.mil.

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