by Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community
Outreach Public Affairs
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) - A
2006 Taishan No. 1 Middle High School Graduate and Taishan City, Guangdong
Province, China, native receives the Sailor of the Year Award serving aboard USS
George Washington.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class
Xiaohong Cao, currently serving for five years, received the award for
becoming an active member in
supporting command readiness and professional development of junior
sailors across the command.
"It is an honor to have been selected as Sailor of the
Year," said Cao. "As my mentor always said to me, 'never say no to
yourself.' Of course it is not easy to get all the way there, I got
setback and frustrated before but I kept telling myself I can do it, and now I
made it."
"I am very thankful my chain of command and infinite family supports me. My mentor,
Master Chief Petty Officer Ames, always encourages me to go beyond myself. Being the SOY is the milestone for my Navy
career, but it is not the ending, just another beginning. It will encourage me
to go further and beyond," she added.
Cao, a logistics specialist, reported onboard USS George Washington on
December 2015. She is the command’s financial leading petty officer responsible
for maintaining and upkeeping the supply system database which consists of managing
over 41 thousand items valued at 203 million. Additionally, she's in charge of
managing two command budgets over 1.4 million which includes financial
accountability for the ship’s fuel of approximately 3 million gallons.
Cao says she cares about the sailors at the command. She trained and
qualified 150 personnel in her mentorship program and sets
the standards for others to emulate. This motivates and encourages sailors to
achieve higher qualifications and reach their goals.
“I believe each sailor makes a difference within the command," said Master Chief Petty Officer
Logistics Specialist Mary Ames, supply department leading chief petty
officer. “Sometimes enlisted
accomplishment is taken for granted, discouraging junior sailors
from performing at their very best. Being recognized for individual
accomplishments can be a valuable tool to motivate sailors and encourage sailors to perform above and beyond what is expected of them."
“For a sailor to be recognized with the honor of Sailor of the Year
they need to be trend setters. By being the Sailor of the Year, the command is
acknowledging that you have set a very high standard for other sailors to
emulate. You have to perform your duties in exemplary manner, you
have to be fully qualified for your paygrade including warfare devices, and in
addition you need to impact the command by performing collateral duties,
volunteering and representing the parent command while becoming a true
ambassador of the Navy,” added Ames.
George
Washington is a nuclear powered aircraft carrier home ported in Norfolk,
Virginia. It is one of only 10 currently operational aircraft carriers in
the U.S. Navy and the fourth Navy vessel named after the first president
of the United States.
Cao graduated from Guangdong University
of Technology in 2009 and received a bachelor’s degree from Dongguan University
of Technology in 2011.