Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Johnetta Heckard was selected as the 2014 Chief of Naval Personnel/Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPT&E) Sailor of the Year (SOY) at a luncheon ceremony held in the Port O' Call Banquet and Conference Center on Naval Station Great Lakes here, Feb. 27.

There were three MPT&E SOY finalists this year that included Heckard from Navy Personnel Command (NPC) in Millington, Tennessee., the NPC SOY; Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Sharon N. Barker, from Recruit Training Command (RTC), Great Lakes, Illinois, and the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) SOY; and Navy Counselor 1st Class Ryan A. Blackmer, from Navy Recruiting District Michigan in Detroit, and the Navy Recruiting Command (NRC) SOY.

The announcement was made at the luncheon by Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP), Vice Adm. William F. Moran, who oversees all commands in the MPT&E domain.

"This process is about much more than simply picking a winner, 'Sailor of the Year' allows us to pause and reflect on service, humility and the importance of recognizing excellence," said Moran.

"It is honor to be part of this celebration, to get to know these Sailors and to meet with the leaders who nominated them, leaders recognizing leadership and the very best talent in our Navy. I'm incredibly proud and humbled by the quality of our Sailors at all levels in our Navy, and particularly impressed by the quality of these Sailors of the Year and the impact they are having in the lives of Sailors all around the fleet."

As MPT&E finalists Barker, Blackmer and Heckard began their SOY week participating in an interview process conducted by CNP Fleet Master Chief April Beldo and MPT&E domain force master chief petty officers. During the week they toured a number of commands on the "Quarterdeck of the Navy" at Naval Station Great Lakes.

During their tours at these training commands they were given an opportunity to mentor Sailors at Training Support Center (TPC) Great Lakes and recruits at the Navy's only boot camp, RTC Great Lakes. They toured where recruits conduct their final capstone event of boot camp, Battle Stations, the culmination of their boot camp training on board the Navy's largest ship simulator, the 210-foot-long replica of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Trayer (BST 21).

They also observed the weekly Pass-In-Review graduation, Feb. 27, in the Midway Ceremonial Drill Hall. There they joined more than 1,000 parents, relatives and loved ones to watch as 599 recruits graduated and became United States Navy Sailors.

The group was also given a day to take in numerous Chicago attractions Feb. 25, including the German submarine U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry, the 103rd floor Skydeck of the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Pritzker Military Library and Navy Pier. And they were the guests of honor of the National Basketball League's Chicago Bulls and were joined by CNP Moran at the game between the Bulls and Charlotte Hornets at the Bulls' home stadium, the United Center.

Before the game on the Bulls home floor, the Sailors were given an on-court salute by the Bulls organization and met several players from each team, including Hall of Fame center and former New York Knick Patrick Ewing, now a coach for the Hornets. The group took cell phone "selfies" with Ewing at center court and had an official photo taken after being welcomed by the team's Vice President of Basketball Operations and former Bulls championship guard, John Paxson.

"Ten years ago when I joined and I walked through the gates of boot camp, I never thought that I could be here," said Barker, from Brooklyn, New York. "It's been a very humbling experience. This whole week, we've toured Chicago and it's been amazing. Being at a Bulls game was something I wanted to do before transferring and getting that opportunity has been awesome. I can't wait to go back and tell the stories to my junior Sailors."

Heckard said she was very humbled by her selection and the entire process. "I feel overwhelmed right now, humbled, thankful for the opportunity, and kind of shocked that my name was called. It was kind of like an 'are you sure'-type moment," said Heckard, 31, from Toledo, Ohio, who is the junior enlisted intelligence specialist detailer at NPC.

"For the most part I'm just humbled and thankful to just even be part of this and then to be recognized and selected as MPT&E Sailor of the Year has been overwhelming."

Heckard credited her command, her mentors and Sailors that work for and with her for getting the 13-year Sailor this far into the annual competition. Her next step will be to go through the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Shore Sailor of the Year competition in Washington, D.C. If she is selected, she will automatically promote to chief petty officer.

"The opportunities I've had to be mentored and to mentor, I think, has really helped me become a better Sailor," said Heckard. "I've always believed that if you keep your focus, keep your eye on the prize or on your goals, everything will work out," said Heckard. "The whole week has been amazing and it should always take place here at Great Lakes."

Fleet Master Chief Beldo called the entire week an outstanding event and said it was once again very special to have the week at Great Lakes, bringing the finalists back to "The Quarterdeck of the Navy".

"It was all about having a good time and recognizing them for the hard work they've done and making sure that they know as leadership we do appreciate everything they do to get to this point in their careers," said Beldo.

"During the week it was awesome watching them mentor our junior Sailors and recruits at TSC and RTC, they got to have some fun in Chicago and they remained humble and very professional the entire week. For me it was very exciting," said Beldo, who has served as command master chief at both RTC and at Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) headquarters on Naval Station Great Lakes.

Beldo said bringing the finalists back to Great Lakes was an opportunity to remind them where their Navy careers began. She said most of the finalists have been in the Navy now for 10 years and coming back to Great Lakes was an opportunity to reacquaint the finalists, the other force master chiefs from the MPT&E domain and supporting staff with the training at the "A" Schools and, in particular, the training being conducted today at boot camp.

"None of the three finalists have been back to boot camp since they graduated from here," said Beldo. "All of them said they were refreshed and motivated being back here. I asked them to get the word back to the fleet about how the recruit division commanders (RDCs) and officer leaders are getting the job done and turning civilians into Sailors. That job is getting done and these three finalists saw that this week."

The CNP Fleet Master Chief said she believes whenever there is an opportunity to bring fleet Sailors back to RTC, it should be taken and Sailors should return.

"This SOY week was perfect to bring these Sailors back to see the changes in training and then they can take what they saw back to their commands in the fleet and let their commands know that the group of trainers, instructors, facilitators, RDCs and CNRC (Commander, Navy Recruiting Command) folks are all doing their jobs of getting Sailors trained so when they cross the quarterdeck of their next command in the fleet they are ready to go."

The other finalists agreed with Beldo on how important it was to occasionally return to Great Lakes to observe the training of new recruits and Sailors. All three said their favorite part of the week was mentoring the junior Sailors and recruits.

"It's been an honor to be selected and to participate in the process of the Sailor of the Year program," said Blackmer, from Bradenton, Florida. "The best part of the week for me was talking with the recruits and other Sailors going to the schools here. It's amazing just to see the process of turning a civilian into a Sailor and the work it takes. When I went through that process I don't recall it being so much of a change. But it is. This week also illustrated, to me, the importance of taking care of your Sailors, motivating your Sailors and making the Navy a better place for your Sailors."

Barker said that since she works at RTC as an RDC every day is a great day to mentor Sailors. "This whole week has definitely been humbling. But the thing I'll take away from the process and the week is the leadership does care and wants the best for you. They appreciate what we do and in due time will recognize you."

The Sailor of the Year program is an opportunity for Navy commands to recognize a Sailor that represents the best of the Navy by demonstrating both professional and personal dedication.

Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, the then Chief of Naval Operations, or CNO, initiated the Sailor of the Year program in 1972, to recognize the outstanding Atlantic and Pacific Fleet Sailors. The following year, the Shore Sailor of the Year program was introduced.

Today, every Navy ship, station and command around the world chooses its Sailor of the Year based on leadership, professionalism, dedication, and superior performance. These selectees compete against recipients from other commands competing at higher and higher echelons until the Navy's four finest are chosen from U.S. Fleet Forces (Atlantic); Navy Reserves; U.S. Pacific Fleet; and from shore activities. These four are then meritoriously promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

Rear Adm. Rich Brown, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, was the host of the CNP/MPT&E SOY Week.

Brown and his NSTC staff oversee 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy. This includes RTC, the Navy's only boot camp; the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at more than 160 colleges and universities; Officer Training Command (OTC) on Naval Station Newport, R. I.; and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

For more information about NSTC, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/ or visit the NSTC Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/NavalServiceTraining/.

For more information on CNP/MPT&E visit http://www.navy.mil/cnp/.

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