Photo By Stephen Doyle | INDIANAPOLIS (July 6,2018) Senior Chief Navy Counselor Christopher Blake, Assistant...... read more read more
INDIANAPOLIS (NNS) - Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Lawrence Duncan, a Cleveland native, assigned to Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Michigan was advanced to Boatswain’s Mate 1st class as a part of the Navy’s Meritorious Advancement Program (MAP), July 6.
MAP is part of the Navy's ongoing talent management initiatives used to empower the command leadership to advance their top-performing Sailors. MAP provides commands the opportunity to recognize their best Sailors, advancing them when they are ready for the next level of responsibility.
Duncan was one of seven NRD Michigan Sailors selected for this year’s MAP, but the news was particularly significant for him because he received it from NRD Michigan’s Assistant Chief Recruiter, Senior Chief Navy Counselor Christopher Blake, the same person who put him in to the Navy in 2010.
“When I got the news it really felt like a dream come true,” said Duncan. “And to hear it from him was really great, he took a chance on me many years ago, he helped give me a better life. This was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life, the man that put me in the Navy is now telling me that I have been advanced to first class petty officer.”
“He is probably one of the few Sailors that I put in the navy, that has kept in contact with me since he joined,” said Blake. “I’m so excited for him to be promoted, because it brings it full circle, I’m towards the end of my career, and to ‘pass the torch’ is really a huge thing.”
“What a great day for both Sailors,” said Cmdr. Wes House, commanding officer of NRD Michigan. “BM1 Duncan being recognized for his superb performance and Senior Chief Blake being able to see that his confidence in Duncan was well deserved.”
Duncan was recruited out of Navy Recruiting District Ohio in 2010, by then Navy Counselor 1st Class Christopher Blake was the leading petty officer of the East Cleveland Station.
Blake’s first impression of Duncan was that of a very motivated and mature young man.
“He joined a little older than average, and he was just hungry, he wanted to do something, he wanted direction,” said Blake. “I think he wanted to be like the recruiters in the station, he always asking questions about how the Navy and about traditions.”
Prior to enlisting in to the Navy Duncan attended a few years of college and worked random jobs. His motivation for going to the recruiting station came from a friend of his who joined another branch of the service.
“I wanted something different, I was looking for direction and it was something I needed,” said Duncan. “I wasn’t really going anywhere and one of my friends had joined the Air Force so I just took a chance and walked in to the Navy Recruiting Station.”
Duncan’s drive and work ethic was evident even prior to shipping off to boot camp.
“He would always come in on his days off and during his extra time,” Blake recalled. “I would help him understand the different opportunities offered to him and what to do to be successful, I told him to always stay hungry.”
Duncan remembers Blake as an honest and helpful figure during that time in his life.
“He put me into the US Navy,” said Duncan. “He was NC1 at the time, he was a straight shooter, very up front and told me the honest truth and more importantly told me the honest truth of what I would have to do to be successful, he was a little hard at times, but he molded me and made me into a good Future Sailor and I took that into the fleet."
Through Duncan’s time in the Navy he would occasionally reach out to Blake for advice, and inevitably he found himself at a recruiting district where Blake’s advice would become helpful. For both Duncan and Blake recruiting duty has proven to be both challenging and rewarding.
“One of the reasons I came recruiting was this, the impact you have on an individual’s life,” said Blake. “It's an enormous feeling that I don’t take for granted, I know that it means a lot to him but it means a lot to me. This has given me a second wind, to know that it's not over yet and continue to impact lives, when I stop impacting lives then it’s time to go home.”
“At the end of the day we change people’s lives for the better,” said Duncan. “I am a perfect example of that, I love recruiting and to be able to see the transformation from when they come into the office to when they come back to visit or when they get out to the fleet is amazing, they are a different person, they’re a Sailor now.”
For more news from Navy Recruiting Command visit www.navy.mil/local/cnrc.
| Date Taken: | 07.06.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.06.2018 18:16 |
| Story ID: | 283493 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 488 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NRD MICHIGAN REUNITES RECRUIT AND RECRUITER BY NAVY RECRUITING DISTRICT MICHIGAN PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS STEPHEN D. DOYLE II, by Stephen Doyle, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
