Seaman Recruit Samantha Markel, Division 942, graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training Command earning the Military Excellence Award on August 24.

Markel, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, said she joined the Navy to follow in the footsteps of other family members.

“I joined the Navy because my older brother, Nick, and his wife, Morgan, are both in the armed forces and I wanted to feel the same pride they feel from serving their country,” Markel said.

Markel, 18, is a 2018 graduate of Oshkosh West High School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where she competed in gymnastics.  

She is assigned the rate of Aviation Electronics Technician.

The Navy Club of the United States Military Excellence Award is the top award presented to the No. 1 recruit of their graduating training group. The MEA is awarded to the recruit that best exemplifies the qualities of enthusiasm, devotion to duty, military bearing and teamwork. The award placed her at the pinnacle of today’s newest Sailors. Markel is awarded a flag letter of commendation.

Markel expressed pride in being selected as the MEA.

“Winning the MEA means to me that I reached my expectations of making the most of my boot camp experience and making my family at home proud,” she said.

Markel credited her Recruit Division Commanders, Chief Steelworker David Aanenson, Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Brent Gray and Logistics Specialist 1st Class Aukitrian Elmore for their leadership and guidance.

“Elmore motivated me the most,” Markel said. “She always showed a great example of how to be a female in the military who would never settle for being any less due to her gender. All of my RDCs and shipmates pushed me to be my best because they always made their expectations of me known and would hold me accountable for reaching their expectations.”

Adjusting to the unexpected was the most difficult part of Markel’s boot camp experience.

“The biggest challenge, for me, in boot camp was not knowing what was coming next,” she said. “Before boot camp, I was a very organized person who always had a set schedule. So coming here and not always knowing what to expect on a daily basis was difficult for me to adapt.”

    After graduation, Markel will attend her “A” School in Pensacola, Florida. Aviation Electronics Technicians work with some of the most advanced electronics equipment in the world and repair a wide range of aircraft electrical and electronic systems.

Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. More than 30,000 recruits graduate annually from RTC and begin their Navy careers.

For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.

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

For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/.