Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nikita Custer
U.S. Navy
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nikita Custer, a native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2017. She completed boot camp at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Illinois, and graduated as honor graduate from the Basic Mass Communication Specialist Course at the Defense Information School, Fort Meade, Maryland.
Her operational assignments include tours aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), where she served as a photojournalist during the ship’s homeport shift, and USS Nitze (DDG 94), where she supported DESRON 2’s Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training as the sole MC. She later served at Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, as assistant leading petty officer and creative lead for visual productions. In 2019, she reported to Naval Service Training Command, supporting RTC graduations, Navy outreach efforts, and public health campaigns. She was named NSTC’s FY-21 Junior Sailor of the Year and earned two first-place awards in the 2021 Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards: one in the Online Publication category for her product Navigating NOFFS, and another in the Video Short-Form Production category for coauthoring NSI 2021.
She currently serves aboard USS Frank Cable (AS 40) as the Media Department Leading Petty Officer. In this role, she leads all public affairs content operations, ensures strategic messaging alignment, mentors junior Sailors, and supports leadership communication objectives across the command. Her leadership contributions include Command Duty MC program development, VIPER Training Team coordination, and TAD support during Super Typhoon Mawar recovery operations.
Her personal awards include four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and four Flag Letters of Commendation.
