Photo By Chief Petty Officer Stephane Belcher | 221130-N-PG340-2005 GREAT LAKES, Illinois (Nov. 30, 2022) Aviation Electronics...... read more read more
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Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Jacob A. De La Pena, from Tampa, Florida, is a recruit division commander and the Junior Sailor of the Year (JSOY) at U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command (RTC), the Navy’s only boot camp.
RTC’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Kertrek Brooks named De La Pena as the JSOY.
He competed against three other nominees for the JSOY award. Master Chief Fire Controlman Mark Gilling, his leading chief petty officer, nominated him for the award.
“He called me one day and said, ‘Hey, I think you would be a good candidate for Junior Sailor of the Year,’ and I was like, say less,” De La Pena said. “Sounds good to me! Let's do it.”
De La Pena has several key collateral duties and qualifications at RTC. He is on the master training specialist (MTS) team, the advanced warrior toughness team, the ships training team, and teaches warrior toughness and MTS.
“I'm always pushing to do more, and just striving to do whatever I can to stay ahead,” he said. “I think that's a big part of it, and I always stay motivated.”
He also spends his off-time volunteering at the USO, Illinois Great Lakes Center, and with a local high school Junior ROTC.
“It makes me feel pretty good,” said De La Pena about working with the students. “It's cool to see them striving to possibly join the Navy or just the military one day. You feel like it's a way to give back.”
De La Pena thanked his mentors and teammates for helping him achieve the JSOY award, and his wife for her support. He spoke about continuing to grow as a Sailor.
“There's always room for more,” he added. “There are some things I can get better at, that’s for sure. Those are the main things that I think about, the things that I need to get better at.”
De La Pena joined the Navy in 2015. He served with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 7, in Norfolk, and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, in San Diego, before reporting to RTC. He earned the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist and Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualifications.
Boot camp is approximately 10 weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy’s only boot camp.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2023 15:43 |
| Story ID: | 438468 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruit Training Command announces Junior Sailor of the Year, by CPO Stephane Belcher, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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