The Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS) recently announced its Small Learning Site Civilian of the Year (COY) for 2017.

Dawn Muraca, a training specialist for CSCS Det. West, was astounded when she heard she was selected.

"There were so many amazing candidates," Muraca said. "I am truly grateful and thank CSCS for the recognition."

Muraca, who was selected as Civilian of the Quarter (COQ) for the fourth quarter of 2017, is also a retired master training specialist qualified chief electronics technician and well-known in the CSCS training community.

"I retired from the Navy in 2010 from CSCS Det West," she explained. "Then, in March 2015, I became part of the Det West civilian workforce and have been a training specialist for almost three years."

As a training specialist, Muraca maintains, revises and conducts formal course reviews (FCR) on curriculum for 16 highly technical courses of instruction for electronics technicians, fire controlmen, gunner's mates, surface network security officers, ordnance officers and surface communications officers.

"I also develop, manage and revise four Foreign Military Sales' Vertical Launch Systems courses for International military students and conduct instructor qualification evaluations for more than 30 military instructors and seven contract instructors," she said.

Cmdr. Jim Drew, CSCS Det. West's officer in charge, says Muraca deserves this prestigious award because of her stellar performance.

"Dawn's work ethic is amazing," he said. "As a training specialist, she has assumed a lot of responsibilities but no matter how full her plate is, she always has a positive attitude. In addition, she is just three courses shy of completing her Master of Arts in Education. She is truly a remarkable individual."

Even though she is retired from the Navy, Muraca feels that in her position, she is still able to make a positive impact on our future Sailors.

"I enjoy working with curriculum and ensuring all training materials are current, relevant and approved for use for fleet training to meet the operational goals of the U.S. Navy."

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 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 more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For information on the Center for Surface Combat System, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cscs/ or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-Surface-Combat-Systems/1480366868885239.