Photo By Darryl Orrell | CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. (Sept. 7, 2018) The Petty Officer Association at Center for...... read more read more
CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. – The Petty Officer Association at Center for Security Forces Detachment Chesapeake received the President’s Volunteer Service Award during a ceremony held at the Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex, 7 Sept.
The award recognizes United States citizens and permanent lawful residents who attain the required number of service hours over a 1-year period or the cumulative hours over the course of one’s lifetime.
Members from the Currituck County Board of Commissioners presented the Petty Officer Association (POA) with the prestigious award on behalf of the President.
“It’s great to see so many young folks [who] are really willing to step up and do whatever it takes for the country and their community and we’re very blessed to have them here,” said Commissioner Bobby Hanig.
“I started my career in the Navy,” said Commissioner Mike Payment. “I know from the bottom of peoples’ heart that when they see the involvement in the community, it means a lot to them. [This is] just a small token that we can come out and thank [these Sailors] on behalf of Currituck.”
Five Sailors were also presented with personal awards for their outstanding volunteer service work. They awardees were Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Matthew Rosales, Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Connor Coburn, Mater-at-Arms 1st Class William Kunkel, and Master-at-Arms 1st Class Natasha Gomez.
During an interview, Gomez noted that Kunkel never missed a single volunteer event during the past two-years. Kunkel credits his family heritage on what it means to give back to the community.
“It’s my way of giving back to the community for a better world than what you received it in,” said Kunkel. “I think the Navy does a great job promoting community outreach events and am happy that people take their time to actually participate.”
Kunkel also shared that he enjoys getting his family involved in the volunteer work as a means to pass on his family heritage to his child.
Chief Master-at-Arms Jamie Makowka was the visionary who breathed life into the idea and she and Gomez lead the POA to success. Both recalled that working with the Green Run High School NJROTC (Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) students and the preservation work aboard the battleship Wisconsin were their favorite events.
Gomez cited the volunteer work with the NJROTC unit as the most memorable. She recalls a couple students who didn’t feel worthy to join the military because of their past.
“The students came and asked us questions about our personal life before we joined [the military],” said Gomez. When we shared our backgrounds with them, they were like ‘Wow, you guys are so successful, I didn’t think you came exactly from where I came.’ So they began to believe they were worthy of something more than what they had been told.”
Makowka shared that even though the students were excited to have Sailors do physical training with them and run cadences, it was the time the Sailors took to sit down and answer their questions that they seemed to enjoy most.
Both Makowka and Gomez shared that they are proud of the Green Run High School NJROTC, which has since gone on to win two consecutive NJROTC national championships. The NJROTC Nationals, according to the NJROTC website, are the most comprehensive test of overall JROTC training and performance in academics, athletics and drill competition.
"I am very proud of each of these Sailors," said Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Korn, the detachment's officer-in-charge. "The time they gave to volunteer work serve as individual testaments to their dedication and determination to build the Navy's future as well as preserve its rich past."
The Center for Security Forces provides specialized training to more than 23,000 students each year. It has 14 training locations across the United States and around the world that carry the motto “Where Training Breeds Confidence.”
For more information about the Center for Security Forces, visit us at http://www.navy.mil/local/csf.
For more news from the Center for Security Forces, visit us at www.netc.navy.mil/centers/csf.
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/censecfor.
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2018 11:00 |
| Story ID: | 292195 |
| Location: | CURRITUCK, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 367 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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