Sailor of the Year!

Naval Base Point Loma (February 27, 2004) -- Rear Admiral Paul F. Sullivan, Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, presents USS Key West (SSN 722) Sailor EM1(SS) James A. Colley with a plaque for being named COMSUBPAC Sea Sailor of the Year. The award was presented to Colley at a ceremony at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego. Colley's wife, Melissa, joined him. Photo by JOC(SCW) Robert Feinberg.

Naval Base Point Loma (February 27, 2004) -- Rear Admiral Paul F. Sullivan, Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, presented the COMSUBPAC Sea and Shore Sailor of the Year awards in San Diego recently. USS Key West (SSN 722) Sailor EM1(SS) James A. Colley was selected as the Sea Sailor of the Year. STS1(SS/DV) Jeremy S. Reed from San Diego’s Deep Submergence Unit (DSU) earned the Shore Sailor of the Year title. Colley and Reed will now move on to compete at the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet level.

"I really wasn’t expecting to win," said Colley, a seven-year Navy veteran from Knoxville, Tennessee. "I was up against a lot of good competition and more senior guys with more experience. They’re a great bunch of guys," he explained. "My father raised me by himself, and I don’t think I’d be the Sailor I am today without his support," Colley said. "I’m very impressed and proud to stand behind my husband," exclaimed Colley’s wife, Melissa. "I know that he does (his job) well."

Reed, an eight-year Navy veteran from Morehead City, North Carolina, said, "It’s a great honor. Everyone you compete against is at such a high level. I really feel like I’ve accomplished something."

Pacific Submarine Force Sailors of the Year representing sea and shore commands from throughout the Fleet competed for the top honors. Ten Sailors – five from Shore Commands and five from Sea Commands in Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, San Diego, and the Western Pacific – traveled to San Diego with their spouses for the competition.

"This was a great bunch of candidates," noted the COMSUBPAC Force Master Chief, FORCM(SS) Mike Benko. "It was very competitive. They were all very knowledgeable of not only their individual jobs, but of the various Navy programs as well." When asked to identify one common trait all the Sailor’s possessed he commented that, "All of our candidates had strong major command collateral duties in addition to their job. They were a young group of guys averaging seven to ten years of service."

This marked the first year that San Diego hosted the competition and, according to Benko, it went very well. "The Subase (Point Loma) provided us first-rate service," he said. Having the contest in San Diego also gave the Sailors coming from OCONUS commands an opportunity to bring their spouses back to "the mainland," and provided an opportunity for them to take additional leave and travel home to see their families.

Sailors competing for COMSUBPAC Sailors of the Year were: from the Pacific Northwest, FT1(SS) William B. Foster, Submarine Group 9 and MM1(SS) Jayson M. Brettin, USS Alabama (SSBN 731) (GOLD); from San Diego, EM1(SW) Benedict G. Delarosa, ARCO (ARDM 5), MM1(SS) Christopher J. Farrell, USS Salt Lake City (SSN 716); MM1(SS) Travis W. Walter, USS Dolphin (AGSS 555) and STS1(SS/DV) Jeremy S. Reed, DSU; from Hawaii, EM1(SS) James A. Colley, USS Key West (SSN 722) and ET1(SS) Christian M. Newkirk, COMSUBPAC Staff; and from the Western Pacific, ET1(SW) David W. Burch, USS Frank Cable (AS 40) and MM1(SS) Joseph G. Aquino, Submarine Squadron 15.

Story by JOC(SCW) Robert Feinberg

 

COMSUBPAC Sailors of the Year