Three Sailors from Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Naval Station Rota were awarded Sailor of the Year (SOY), Junior Sailor of the Year (JSOY), and Blue Jacket of the Quarter (BJOQ) on Jan. 10, 2020.
Construction Electrician (CE) 1st Class Christopher Arlen, utilities and engineering management, construction engineer leading petty officer (LPO) and winner of SSOY, CE2 Floyd Davis Jr., facility engineering acquisition division job order contracts performance assessment representative and winner of JSOY, and Equipment Operator (EO) 3rd Class Alexander Randolph, contract crane inspector and winner of BJOQ, went up against seven sites in the region and won all three awards in a sweeping victory.
For Davis and Randolph, the first thing they did was to contact their families to let them know they had won.
“I came into NAVFAC and was hitting the ground rolling,” said Davis. “I never looked back, but for me to tell my dad I'm the top sailor at NAVFAC out of seven commands. I can imagine the smile on his face. Me telling my family that, it just felt really good.”
Randolph also said his first reaction was to call family, but his call went to his grandfather, a military veteran.
“He was really excited,” said Randolph speaking about his grandfather. “He said ‘I’m really proud of you and I didn’t have any doubt.’”
Randolph is from Palm Beach, Florida and joined in 2018 in order to travel and get away from home. A sentiment echoed by Davis, a Chicago native, and Arlen, originally from Dubuque, Iowa.
Arlen, who has been stationed at NAVSTA Rota for three years, said that winning SSOY is validation of the choices he's made to get him to where he is today.
“It tells me I'm in the right direction of one goal I'm trying to attain,” said Arlen. “Trying to leave this place better than when I found it. In my mind, it means I'm on the right track”
Randolph, Davis and Arlen each have many personal and professional accomplishments, but said they think winning is about more than what's on paper.
“The package was fine, but that's just black and white,” said Davis. “I guess I had a lot of people backing me. My chief backed me. My command backed me. Black and white is dismissed, but if you've seen us perform, we're top notch.”
As to what inspires these Sailors to keep trying and to do their best, Arlen said for him it’s having the chance to fail or succeed at anything he is given.
“I think it's personally taking pride in your work,” said Arlen. “Besides that, it’s really the leadership driving us to it.”
Chief Petty Officer Justin Rummel, the senior enlisted leader of PWD Rota, had this to say about what it meant for them to have swept the awards this year.
“I think it shows the caliber of leadership from petty officer Randolph on up through the LPOs,” said Rummel. “It's not just at my level or the commander’s level. It's all the way down. I think that it just shows the caliber of people that we have. Not everyone comes in the same caliber, but the first classes and second classes have the ability to mold those people into what they need to be and show them what's expected of them by giving clear expectations.”
For Sailors looking to win awards in future competitions, Arlen had some advice.
“Really sit down and state your goals for yourself and hold yourself accountable,” said Arlen. “Like me trying to find a way to improve what was given to me. I think if the leadership is there, you’re going to get the recognition.”
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2020 18:59 |
| Story ID: | 387509 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 136 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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