Monday, January 27, 2020

Rapid City Native Named Sailor of the Year

(NORFOLK, Va.) A Rapid City, South Dakota, native was named Sailor of the Year aboard the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), Dec. 16.

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tony D. Curtis, a 2007 graduate of Rapid City Central High School, took home top honors as the ship’s Sailor of the Year (SOY).

Each command across the Navy chooses one SOY, the unit’s top-performing first class petty officer, each year.

Curtis said he was honored to be selected.

“It’s an incredible honor to have been selected for this award among so many other hard-working and talented Sailors,” he said. “I was just doing what my mentors all challenged me to do because it was the right thing to do.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower is currently conducting operations while underway in the Atlantic Ocean.