The Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS) recently announced its Small Activity Civilian of the Quarter (COQ) for the second quarter of 2018.

Ms. Michelle Catallo, a training specialist for CSCS Detachment West, was excited to be chosen amongst the CSCS training community.

“When I was told Det West had some news for me, I honestly thought I was going to be assigned a new collateral duty,” she said with a smile. “But I was very happy when I was notified of the award. It is truly an honor to be selected.”

As a training specialist, Catallo has numerous responsibilities, including qualifying and evaluating instructors, reviewing, developing, and coordinating curriculum, and conducting training for all new instructors during command indoctrination.

“I am also the [Master Training Specialist] evaluator, internal [Corporate Enterprise Training Activity Resource Systems] training instructor, division in the spotlight evaluator, evaluator training instructor, and a member of the academic review board,” she explained.

Cmdr. Jim Drew, CSCS Det West’s officer in charge, says Catallo is the backbone of the instructor certification program at his command.

“Michelle consistently performs her duties at a very high level, which significantly improves Det West’s ability to provide the best training to our Sailors,” he said.

Catallo has been an indispensable member of the navy community. After serving active duty as a fire controlman (FC), she became part of the CSCS team in 2007.

“As an FC, I worked on the MK 86 Gun Fire Control System, Rolling Airframe Missile, and Target Acquisition System,” she said. “I miss those systems but I am fortunate that I can still work with the military and support the mission.”

Even though she no longer serves aboard a ship, for the last 11 years, Catallo has continued to help shape the Navy.

“My favorite aspect of my job is training instructors and watching them grow into MTS instructors who will teach the future of our fleet.”

CSCS' mission is to develop and deliver surface ship combat systems training to achieve surface warfare superiority. CSCS headquarters' staff oversees 14 learning sites and detachments, including CSCS Det West, located throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and Japan and manages and operates a Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) training division in Rota, Spain. CSCS provides over 538 courses, awards 114 different Navy Enlisted Classifications (NECs), and trains 37,400 Sailors a year. CSCS delivers specialized training for Officer and Enlisted Sailors required to tactically operate, maintain, and employ shipboard and shore-based weapons, sensors, and command and control systems utilized in today's Navy.

For information on the Center for Surface Combat Systems, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cscs/.

Visit us on Facebook.

Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.