NETC Awards 2022 Military Instructors of the Year

ByEnsignJessicaWood

Naval Education and Training Command

NavalEducationandTrainingCommand’s (NETC) Military Instructors of the Year (MIOY) were presented awards at the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard NavalAirStationPensacolaonFeb.10,2023

As part of a two-day event, culminating in an awards ceremony, awardees met with Rear Adm. Pete Garvin, commander NETC andForceMasterChiefMattHarris touredthemuseumandexploredthegreater Pensacolaarea. Instructors serving throughout the MyNavy HR Force Development domain competed against nearly 11,000 instructorsforthisprestigiousdistinction.Thefive awardeesdemonstratedsuperiorsustained performanceintheirinstructorroles excelling as leaders and mentors at their respectivecommandswhileactivelyengagingwith theircommandsandlocalcommunities

During the ceremony, Garvin presented Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals to the all of the NETC 2022 MIOY awardees “Instructordutyisanoutstandingopportunity for our Sailors and Marines to pass on their knowledge and share their expertise with those who like themselves have madeachoicetoproudlyservetheircountry,” said Garvin.

Thewinnersineachcategoryinclude:

JUNIORENLISTED-ElectronicsTechnician Second Class Petty Officer Sean Paulson, Surface Combat Systems Training Command,SanDiego,California Poulson, a subject matter expert in radio sets and antenna couplers, dedicated 120 off-dutyhourstostudentsthatneededextra study hours. He ensured that each student receivedhighqualityandpersonalizedtraining His efforts as an instructor helped to producehighlyskilledSailors

RearAdm.Pete Garvin,commander Naval Education andTraining Command (NETC),presents a Navyand Marine Corps Commendation Medal to ChiefWarrant 5 OfficerPaulAdams, assigned to OfficerTraining Command,Newport Rhode Island,forhis selection as the officer militaryinstructoroftheyearduring the MilitaryInstructoroftheYear2022 awards ceremony at the National NavalAviation Museum onboard NavalAirStation Pensacola,February10, 2023.NETC’s mission is to recruit,train and deliverthosewho serve ournation,taking them from street-to-fleet bytransforming civilians into highlyskilled,operational and combat ready warfighters.(UNITEDSTATESNAVYPHOTOBYMASSCOMMUNICATIONSPECIALIST2NDCLASS ZACHARYMELVIN)

MIDGRADE ENLISTED - Quartermaster First Class Petty Officer Heather Vautard,RecruitTrainingCommand,Great Lakes, Illinois

As battle stations leading petty officer, Vautard managed the Navy’s $62.5 million “war-at-sea” simulator and conducted over 150 hours in the evaluation of 34,000 recruits in firefighting basic seamanship andshipboardfundamentals.Shehelpedto delivercombatreadywarfighterstothefleet.

SENIOR ENLISTED Chief Electronics Technician Troy Sumaya, Surface Combat Systems Training Command,

Detachment Southwest Sumaya developed a limited training event to expand the technical knowledge for bridge and combat watch standers on the waterfront. He provided actionable insightsaboutthetrainingthatwasinplace and implemented a solution to optimize currentoperations

OFFICER - Chief Warrant Officer 5 Paul Adams Officer Training Command, Newport,RhodeIsland Adams provided annual instruction to over1,100studentsasdeputydirectorforthe LimitedDutyOfficer/WarrantOfficer/Chief

Warrant Officer Academy He encouraged his students to connect with the community and organized a lecture series with the Naval War College and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post His efforts reinforce involvementinthecommunityandstressthe importanceofbecomingalifelonglearner

NROTC INSTRUCTOR - Capt Joseph Butterfield, Jacksonville University Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps Jacksonville,Florida Butterfieldutilizedinnovativeeducational methods and fostered an environment that encouraged midshipmen to actively participate in class. He was the sole instructor to be named for his outstanding teaching and leadership abilities in the unit’s command climatesurvey Thesecreativeteachingtechniquesensurethatthestudentsstayengaged andretaintheinformationinordertobetter preparethemforthefleet.

Garvin congratulated all of the finalists and their loved ones for their role in shapingthefutureoftheNavyandMarineCorps “Each of you plays a critical role in training our next generation of Naval personnel to fightandwinournation’swars,”saidGarvin. “Youhelpinstillpurposewithyourstudents and forge them into combat-ready Sailors andMarines.”

NETC recruits, trains and delivers those who serve our nation, taking them from “street to fleet, by transforming civilians intohighlyskilled,operational,andcombatreadywarfighters

For more information about NETC, visit the command’s website at https://www netc.navy.mil/ and follow the command’s socialmedia:Facebookathttps://www.facebook.com/NETCHQ Instagram at https:// www.instagram.com/netc_hq, and LinkedInathttps://www.linkedin.com/company/ netchq/.