Nimitz Earns 7th Consecutive Gold Anchor Award

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ryan J. Mayes, USS Nimitz Public Affairs

EVERETT, Wash. (NNS) -- Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) received confirmation Jan. 13, it was among the list of commands to receive the Pacific Fleet Command's Retention Excellence Award, known to many Sailors as the 'Gold Anchor Award'.

The award recognizes commands which have met or exceeded the benchmarks of 100 percent on-time Perform to Serve submissions, 100 percent professional apprentice career track Sailors, a score of 85 or higher on the annual career information program review and an attrition rate not exceeding five percent.

The criterion is set by Navy Personnel Command, and it ensures every command handles the careers of its Sailors properly.

"The big thing this year was making sure everyone was submitted on-time for PTS approval," said Navy Counselor 1st Class Domenique Sanchez. "They were also looking at attrition rate. The criteria can change year to year."

As each command goes through an annual inspection, every Sailor's career file is looked at to make sure nothing is overlooked.

"The worst thing we could do is allow a Sailor to fall through the cracks," said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Alberto Perez Badillo, USS Nimitz command career counselor.

Receiving this reward indicates careers of Nimitz Sailors are not falling by the wayside. These accomplishments are directly related to the efforts of the command's career counselors, departmental career counselors and divisional career counselors.

"The departmental counselors and the division counselors make it a lot easier," said Sanchez. "The program runs smoothly because of them, and this award proves it."

This isn't the first time Nimitz has been recognized for its outstanding career-counseling program.

"This is our seventh consecutive year to receive the award," said Perez Badillo. "This means we are doing our job. The biggest satisfaction is knowing our Sailors are being taken care of."

As visual recognition for the award, Nimitz will receive a special pennant as well as the privilege to paint her two, 30 ton anchors gold. This signals to other ships that Nimitz Sailors are receiving great career management from a team of dedicated professionals.

"Without everyone on this team, those anchors would be grey," said Perez Badillo.

Sanchez explained that moving forward Nimitz' Career Counseling department will continue to ensure every Sailor's career is handled with care. He said the gold anchors serve as well deserved bragging rights for the command.