Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) recognized outstanding civilian performers Dec. 2, by honoring the junior and senior civilians of the quarter (COQ) for the third quarter of 2016.

The awards were presented by NETC Commander Rear Adm. Mike White during an award ceremony held aboard NAS Pensacola.

Steven M. Blankman, a general engineer in the Logistics department (N4), was selected as the senior COQ.

Blankman found solutions for a series of long-standing issues across the NETC domain involving contract support and execution for training equipment maintenance, repair and replacement. By partnering with subject matter experts (SMEs) and policymakers from five commands his efforts led to new guidance allowing work to be inclusive and expedited.

"I like working at NETC because I am able to have a positive impact for Sailors from various warfare enterprises across the country and out as far as Europe and Japan," said Blackman who is responsible for surface and air warfare training infrastructure throughout NETC.

"Mr. Blankman's idea for streamlining contract support and training equipment maintenance was so impactful that NAVFAC (Naval Facilities Engineering Command) and NAVSUP (Naval Supply Systems Command) chose to apply it for implementation across the entire Navy," said Charlie Bailey, NETC training readiness director.

Tara J. Calhoun, an information technology specialist in the Information Technology (IT) department (N6), was selected as the junior COQ.

Calhoun taught herself the Java programing language and worked in collaboration with other software developers to migrate the domain-wide student account and training scheduling program from an Oracle-based platform to a Java platform.

"It is due to Ms. Calhoun's actions, that one of the first applications on the corporate side of CeTARS (Corporate Enterprise Training Activity Resource Systems) was successfully re-platformed in Java," said Ray Delemos, CeTARS technical program manager.

Calhoun was a student at the University of West Florida when her professors recommended her for a student trainee position in the NETC IT department on Saufley Field, Pensacola where she first began working with CeTARS.

"I like the diversity in the different tasks we have to perform," Calhoun said. "I enjoy learning more than one trade or skill and everyone here seems to wear multiple hats - it is inspiring to watch and even better to partake in."

Calhoun previously served in the Army as a human intelligence collector.

NETC is the largest shore command in the Navy and is comprised of more than 12,000 military and staff personnel at more than 230 subordinate activities and detachments in the United States and at remote sites overseas. NETC provides training and education to more than 31,000 students on any given day.



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