Capt. Kevin P. Lenox, commanding officer of aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), announced the Sailors of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2018 at an all-hands call, April 20.

Lenox announced Master-at-Arms 1st Class Anthony Crooks, from Phoenix, as Senior Sailor of the Quarter (SSOQ); Information Systems Technician 1st Class Megan Stepanian, from San Antonio, as Sailor of the Quarter (SOQ); Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Wesley Mogollon, from Pass Christian, Mississippi, as Junior Sailor of the Quarter (JSOQ) and Boatswain's Mate Seaman Benjamin Herrera, from Salinas, California, as Blue Jacket of the Quarter (BJOQ).

Sailors and their senior chain of command were invited to a luncheon where the winners were announced, and they had the opportunity to take a photo with the commanding officer during a cake-cutting ceremony.

"It means a lot to even be nominated by my department, but it means even more to me knowing that I was the first one to win from the new security department," said Crooks. "Its cliche, but I really owe it all to my junior Sailors."

For some, this wasn't the first time attending the ceremony with hopes of hearing their name called.

"A quote I try and live by is 'Work hard in silence, and let success be your noise,'" said Stepanian. "This is my second time in a row being nominated by my department, and it's really refreshing to receive recognition when you put your all into your job."

These winners are part of four groups picked each year, one every quarter, in which four individual winners are picked at the end of the year to represent the ship as the Sailors of the Year. Whether quarterly or annually, these winners represent the best of Nimitz.

Lenox said whether this was their first time at the event, or the first time they were selected as winners, every Sailor should be proud to be there. He said if you were selected to be here today, you're already a winner, and you should be proud.

Nimitz is conducting a docking planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, where the ship is receiving scheduled maintenance and upgrades.

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