Fire Controlman 1st Class Elizabeth Clark has been selected for the 2015 Missile Defender of the Year Award by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

Selectees are chosen by their peers and commanding officers yearly for outstanding operation in the country's missile defense program. As part of the award, Clark will attend the awards ceremony in Arlington, Va., in January.

"I am very honored to have been selected for this achievement, it took a lot of long hours, on and off duty, and unwavering support from my fellow technicians and leadership," said Clark. "We did this together and I am fortunate to have a great chain of command that recognizes our hard work and dedication to the mission and our Sailors."

Clark hails from Deerpark, Wash., where she enlisted in the Navy in March 2010. She is currently serving in her fourth year aboard the 2014 Arleigh Burke Trophy winning destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71). Clark was recently promoted to petty officer first class and has been recognized for excellent work as one of 6th Fleet's 2M technicians for the 3rd quarter fiscal year 2015.

"She is a great Sailor and part of an incredible crew," said Cmdr. Russell J. Caldwell, USS Ross commanding officer. "I am very proud of her achievement and I think this speaks volumes of the entire AEGIS team on Ross. Her selection for this award is an example of the excellence we strive for daily."

USS Ross, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/.