The commanding officer of the U.S. Navy's single point of accountability for aviation technical training announced its Sailor of the Year, Dec. 2.

Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) Commanding Officer Capt. Terry Hammond announced that, from a field of more than 850 first class petty officers, CNATT Unit North Island's Aviation Support Equipment Technician 1st Class Martha Hammersmith was selected as the CNATT 2015 Sailor of the Year.

CNATT Executive Officer Capt. Eric Simon said Hammersmith is an integral part of the CNATT team, both in the classroom and as a member of the Naval Air Station North Island community.

"Petty Officer Hammersmith is an inspirational leader who distinguishes herself with exemplary performance as a leading petty officer, instructor, supporter of sexual assault prevention, and a human rights and advocacy volunteer," he said. "She is truly a well-rounded Sailor; a model citizen who truly believes that off-duty time is better spent serving others."

Hammersmith, a Mexicali, Mexico native, serves as the CNATT Unit North Island Maintenance Training Unit (MTU) 3033 leading petty officer. In this role, she leads more than 30 Sailors in the management and delivery of curriculum for 28 aviation support equipment courses, an effort which resulted in 845 technicians completing these courses.

Aviation support equipment technicians perform preventive and corrective maintenance on aviation support equipment, aviation mobile firefighting units, material handling equipment, hoisting and lifting devices, and associated components and systems.

Hammersmith said that being recognized is reflective of both the staff and instructors, not only at CNATT Unit North Island, but also at the nearly 30 other CNATT activities.

"What we do every day as Sailors isn't for recognition," she said. "While I'm honored to be recognized, everyone at CNATT is dedicated to making sure the Sailors who come to our courses at North Island or any of the other training sites around the world are ready to get to the fleet and do their jobs the way we have trained them to do."

CNATT Command Master Chief Michael Knowles said Hammersmith's dedication to ensuring service members' training remains top-notch, is unparalleled and reinforces the ideal of a well-rounded Sailor.

"We're [CNATT] making sure the Sailors who pass through any of our doors are going to the fleet prepared; trained by Sailors who know these jobs and are the best in their rate the Navy has to offer," he said. "[Petty Officer] Hammersmith is that Sailor, completely dedicated to the ship and shipmate, and I couldn't be more honored to have her as part of this command and as a United States Navy Sailor."

CNATT Unit North Island is a training unit of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, which is located aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. CNATT develops, delivers and supports aviation technical training at 27 sites located throughout the continental United States and Japan.

CNATT is the technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), an organization designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost, and is the largest training center under the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) umbrella.

For more news from Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, visit http://www.navy.mil/.