GREAT LAKES, Ill. — Seaman Recruit Hailey Hohertz, Division 260, graduated as the top sailor from Recruit Training Command, earning the Military Excellence Award on Sept. 15.
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“To the very end of my high school career, I was still very unsure of what path I wanted my life to take,” Hohertz said. “When I found the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, I felt as though I had found my family and my purpose. I wanted to continue to experience the camaraderie, spirit and purpose that I found there. My NJROTC mentors and my family educated me on the opportunities the Navy offered and influenced my choice to enlist.”
Hohertz, 18, is a 2023 graduate of Stony Point High School, where she was a member of the school’s NJROTC award-winning color guard drill team.
Hohertz is assigned the rate of nuclear machinist’s mate.
The Navy Club of the United States Military Excellence Award is the top award presented to the No. 1 recruit of their graduating training group. The award is presented to the recruit who best exemplifies the qualities of enthusiasm, devotion to duty, military bearing and teamwork. The award placed Hohertz at the pinnacle of today’s newest sailors. Hohertz is awarded a flag letter of commendation.
Hohertz said she was honored to receive the Military Excellence Award.
“Winning the Military Excellence Award means that I’ve done right by those who’ve put their faith in me,” Hohertz said. “I’ve been extremely fortunate to have so many people in my life who support me, and I am proud to be able to bring this award home to them. If this is just the start of my Navy career, I know that I can go on to do even bigger things in the future.”
Hohertz credited her recruit division commanders (RDCs), Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Edgar Chajon, Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Tyler Cusack and Yeoman 1st Class Chad Sawyer for their leadership and guidance.
“I was motivated by my RDCs and shipmates,” Hohertz said. “My RDCs had me take on a lot of responsibility early. It was new and often times stressful, but each failure only motivated me to try harder to succeed. It was also thanks to the wonderful, strong, smart women in my division that I made it through boot camp.”
Hohertz said the toughest part of boot camp was learning to be independent.
“This was the first time in my life that I’ve been 100-percent independent,” Hohertz said. “I was often taken aback when having to make any medical or financial decisions, because up until now I’ve always had someone to make those decisions for me. Not having that same support and reliability was tough, but eventually I realized that this is just another part of life.”
After graduation, Hohertz will attend Nuclear Machinist’s Mate “A” School in Charleston, South Carolina, before follow-on training at Navy Nuclear Power School and prototype school. Machinist mate duties in nuclear propulsion plants include operating reactor control, propulsion and power generation systems.
Boot camp is approximately 10 weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes five warfighting competencies of firefighting, damage control, seamanship, watchstanding, and small arms handling and marksmanship. Training also includes physical fitness, lessons in Navy heritage and core values, Warrior Toughness, Life Skills, teamwork and discipline. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy’s only boot camp.
For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/rtc