by Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Public Affairs
PENSACOLA, Fla. – A 2008 Trevor G. Browne High
School, Phoenix graduate and Tucson, Arizona, native was selected as a 2017
Sailor of the Year (SOY) finalist for Naval Education and Training Command
(NETC) at a ceremony onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola at the National Naval
Aviation Museum Dec. 14.
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Equipment Petty Officer 1st Class Lehi
Antonio Juarezmedina is an “A” school instructor at Naval Aviation Technical
Training Center (NATTC), Pensacola, where he teaches new Sailors how to operate and maintain catapult and arresting
gear systems aboard aircraft carriers, as well as safely conduct aircraft
launches and recoveries.
Juarezmedina is responsible for leading 46 military training
instructors and 10 civilian contractors in the daily training of Navy core values,
watch-standing principles, fleet procedures, uniform regulations and career
development for 8,500 recruits every year.
He is also the training support department barracks control division
leading petty officer (LPO).
NETC Commander Rear Adm. Kyle Cozad congratulated the six finalists for their roles in shaping the Navy’s future force and for their contributions to the training and education mission.
"You
represent the best of the very best throughout the domain," said Cozad.
"Each one of you here today has a common theme: a hard work ethic, a drive
to be a better leader, and teamwork. Each and every one of you is a competitor,
and that competitive edge is the thing that makes our Navy better than the
other navies today."
Teaching at NATTC for his third year, Juarezmedina is qualified
as a Master Training Specialist, which is a designation for demonstrating
highly effective teaching skills and a comprehensive understanding of
schoolhouse management, as well as for taking a leadership role in mentoring,
instructing and evaluating instructors and curriculum.
He stressed
the importance of mentorship and leadership in the development of a Sailor.
“I
believe the goal of every leader is to inspire others to do great things,” said
Juarezmedina. “Being in a training
command where many students are barely new to the Navy, the role of a military
training instructor is so important for them. It follows on for the rest of
their career.”
As
a barracks control division LPO, Juarezmedina works with senior leadership and
said he continues to develop his personal leadership style and work on techniques
to help Sailors successfully navigate their own careers.
“I
have learned that being a servant leader is what works best,” said
Juarezmedina. “The principle that - in order to lead, you have to serve first -
has always followed me. I do my absolute best to ensure my team is taken care
of and that they are doing their best to ensure all students are provided with
quality mentorship in preparation for the fleet.”
Out
of approximately 5,600 enlisted staff within NETC, Juarezmedina was one of six
Sailors who competed for the title of NETC SOY. He received a Navy and Marine
Corps Commendation Medal for his achievements.
The
SOY recognition ceremony concluded a week of activities in Pensacola honoring
the nominated candidates.
“Seeing
the professionalism and dedication of all these outstanding Sailor of the Year
finalists only validates the phrase ‘Fleet Readiness Starts Here,’” said NETC
Force Master Chief Karim Cole during the ceremony. “I am confident that we have the right people
in place to train, guide and get our Sailors ready to man the fleet.”
Juarezmedina
plans to continue serving in the Navy.
“My
career aspirations are to become a chief petty officer and in the future
commission as an officer in the Navy,” said Juarezmedina. “As far as education, graduating with a bachelor’s
degree and continuing on to the master’s program are some of my immediate goals.”
Juarezmedina is the son of
Thomas and Sonia Gardner of Tucson. He
has earned associate degrees from Thomas Edison State University and Pensacola
State College and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science from Southern
Illinois University.
The NETC SOY program
recognize Sailors throughout the NETC domain who exhibit sustained superior
performance, leadership, mentorship, knowledge and teaching of military history
and heritage, self-improvement, command and community involvement and exemplary
military bearing among other attributes.
NETC is the largest shore command in the Navy and is
comprised of more than 12,000 military and staff personnel at more than 230
subordinate activities and detachments in the United States and at remote sites
overseas. NETC provides training and education to more than 31,000 students on
any given day.
- - Naval Education and
Training Command Public Affairs
For
additional information on the Naval Education and Training Command, visit the
NETC website: https://www.netc.navy.mil or
http://www.navy.mil/local/cnet/. Follow
us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/netcpao and Twitter @netcpao.