SAN DIEGO - Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Wade, right, a 2004 Highland High School graduate and native of Gilbert, Arizona, was named 2018 Senior Sailor of the Year for his outstanding performance as Independent Duty Corpsman serving aboard USS Paul Hamilton.
Wade, a hospital corpsman, is the senior medical department representative responsible for all management of medical programs.
Wade continued a long family tradition of military service by enlisting in 2007. Wade’s service before Paul Hamilton included two tours in Afghanistan and one year at the Navy’s Independent Duty Corpsman School, where he graduated with honors. In recognition of Wade’s outstanding achievements, he was honored at the Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific, Sailor of the Year recognition ceremony in San Diego on February 15.
In addition to his Sailor of the Year accomplishment, Wade was also recognized as a Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific Enlisted Superior Performer for 2018. Due to his performance that exceeded expectations and standards, Wade was nominated by the commanding officer of Paul Hamilton and was subsequently personally recognized by Vice Admiral Richard Brown. This prestigious distinction highlighted the efforts of Wade in his duties both ashore and at sea.
Homeported in San Diego, Paul Hamilton is the tenth Arleigh Burke Class AEGIS guided missile destroyer and is one of the most sophisticated and capable warships in the world. Destroyers are capable of sustained combat operations supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence. These combatants operate in a network centric warfare environment and execute multi-mission tasking including ballistic missile defense, anti-air, surface, antisubmarine, and cyber warfare.