By JAMES DARCY
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD— NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. Joseph Dyer named AME1(AW) Antonio Calalay the NAVAIR 2002 Sailor of the Year in a ceremony in the Moffett Building atrium Feb. 24. Calalay is command career counselor for Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 at NAVAIR Point Mugu. He was selected Sailor of the Year for his squadron and for Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division before going on to compete at the NAVAIR-wide level. Five other Sailors from throughout NAVAIR also stood before the SOY selection board, each having achieved Sailor of the Year in his respective command.

“I want to thank you and all the folks you represent for standing the watch in a troubled world, one that needs our Navy more than ever,” Dyer told them before revealing Calalay as the recipient of the NAVAIR honor.

Calalay’s fellow competitors were SK2(AW/SW) Harry Hughes from NAVAIR Headquarters; ABE1(AW) Brian Morrison from NAWCAD; AM1(AW) Alfonso Vasquez from Naval Air Depot Jacksonville; SK1(AW) Eric Hansen from Naval Air Mediterranean Repair Activity in Naples, Italy; and ET1(SW) Thomas Trueblood from Naval Air Depot North Island, Calif. SK1 Kenneth Brown was Sailor of the Year for Naval Air Pacific Repair Activity in Atsugi, Japan, but was not able to travel here for the NAVAIR SOY competition.

The SOY selection board was comprised of master chief and senior chief petty officers from each command the candidates represented. On the morning of Feb. 24, they gathered in a room and called the Sailors in one by one to drill them with questions on topics such as current events, naval history, the Uniform Code of Military Justice and even first aid. Sailors were also judged on their military bearing and the appearance of their uniforms.

-USN-

Photo by James Darcy
AME1(AW) Antonio Calalay, command career counselor for VX-30, was named NAVAIR Sailor of the Year in a ceremony in the Moffett Building Feb. 24.