USS Constitution Gets Retention Excellence Award

The crew of USS Constitution officially announced its reception of the Retention Excellence Award for fiscal year (FY) 2013, March 19.

This marks the second straight year ‘Old Ironsides’ has received the award, which was presented to Constitution’s crew by Deputy Director, Navy Staff Capt. Vincent Martinez during a visit to Charlestown Navy Yard earlier this month.

The Retention Excellence Award, established by the United States Fleet Forces Command through the Fleet Retention Excellence Program, is annually awarded to U.S. Navy commands that sustain superior levels of military retention during the previous fiscal year.

“Earning consecutive awards would not have been possible without the combined efforts of our CO, XO, command senior chief, the CPO mess and the divisional career counselors to continue their support of essential mentorship, sponsorship, indoctrination and career development programs to help motivate many of our Sailors to further their naval careers,” said Chief Navy Counselor Louie Beasley, Constitution’s command career counselor.

Award-winning commands must pass the annual Career Information Program Review with a score of 85 points or higher while meeting set benchmarks for reenlistment and attrition rates during the fiscal year. Earning the FY-13 award authorizes Constitution to continue flying the Retention Excellence Award pennant from its foremast and display a gold-painted anchor near the ship’s berth (since anchors are no longer utilized aboard Constitution) throughout FY-14.

“This award speaks a lot to the professionalism and hard work effort put in by our command career counselor to make sure our Sailors are taken care of, their career waypoints are filled on time, and they’re getting the orders they’re looking for,” said Constitution Command Senior Chief Nancy Estrada.

During FY-13, 11 Sailors assigned to Constitution decided to reenlist at their command, which is typically a fleet-wide destination for Sailors searching for a historic location to formally extend their naval service.

“I chose to reenlist to further my career and to go overseas,” said Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Garrett Thormodson, a former Constitution crew member who reenlisted aboard ‘Old Ironsides’ prior to his transfer to Naples, Italy. “Reenlisting at Constitution was very special to me because it is a 216-year-old warship and the oldest ship in the (U.S.) Navy.”

USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat, actively defended sea lanes against global threats from 1797 to 1855. Now a featured destination on Boston’s Freedom Trail, Constitution and her crew of U.S. Navy Sailors offer community outreach and education about the ship’s history and the importance of naval seapower to more than 500,000 visitors each year.

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Press Release, March 20, 2014; Image: Wikimedia