Fire Controlman 1st Class Robert Camphouse, assigned to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), will be representing Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 60 at the Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (SURFLANT) Sailor of the Year (SOY) 2018 board.

SURFLANT, encompassing more than 25,000 Sailors, 60 ships and 29 commands, has gathered its top six Sailors to compete in the SOY competition. The winner, to be announced Feb. 1, will go on to compete at the U.S. Fleet Forces Command SOY competition.

The SOY program was established in 1972 by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Whittet to recognize one Sailor who best represented the Navy by demonstrating both professional and personal dedication.

"I was super ecstatic when it was announced I was the DESRON 60 Sailor of the Year," said Camphouse. "I feel honored to be able to represent my ship at the SURFLANT Sailor of the Year board."

This is Donald Cook's first Sailor to represent DESRON 60 at SURFLANT.

Camphouse was hand-selected out of 40 petty officers first class aboard Donald Cook, and ranked 1 of 4 petty officers first class who competed at the DESON 60 round of SOY boards.

"Petty Officer Camphouse is a sustained superior performer and represents everything that we look for in a Donald Cook Sailor," said Donald Cook's Command Master Chief Jeremy Douglas. "His performance is at the level that we employ every Sailor to aspire to."

Camphouse was a driving force behind a procedural change adapted by the entire fleet to the Aegis system, as well as an integral part of Donald Cook's antiterrorism, combat systems and duty section training teams. In addition, he qualified to stand three separate watch station supervisor positions in the ship's combat information center.

Douglas added Camphouse's technical expertise is unquestioned, and his leadership allows Sailors in the combat systems department to flourish.

This is Donald Cook's eighth forward-deployed naval forces patrol since becoming forward-deployed at Naval Station Rota, Spain, in February 2014.

While on patrol, Donald Cook is scheduled to conduct naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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