SK1 Robert Lipscomb

Storekeeper 1st Class Robert S. Lipscomb was selected to be the first ever full-time support storekeeper for the Blue Angels squadron, a selection that recognized what supervisors and shipmates agreed was his outstanding service at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, Pa.

"His professionalism, concern for subordinates and commitment to the community are, simply stated, unmatched," wrote one supervisor.

Lipscomb's accomplishments were extensive: "He just does not stop!" one shipmate wrote. In addition to supporting more than 1,100 reservists at Willow Grove and managing a $1.73 million budget, Lipscomb coordinated anti-drug abuse lectures at Philadelphia-area schools.

Supervisors with his current unit praised Lipscomb's versatility. "In addition to his storekeeping duties, he must perform functions that are outside of his rate, such as servicing the Blue Angels aircraft by fueling them for shows or practices and helping ... to maintain the aircraft," one officer wrote. "He is a role model for other sailors to look up to and emulate."

A chief put it another way: "He has the energy and drive of a herd of stampeding cattle."

Engineering Aide 1st Class Michael McCarty

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Engineering Aide 1st Class Michael McCarty, a reservist serving as the leading petty officer in his battalion's operations department, is the kind of sailor who made the Seabees famous, his shipmates say. He was given 10 days to make repairs and improvements to a series of bridges in Iraq; it took him five. He worked directly with a Turkish supplier to make sure he got the right kind of concrete to build a runway in Iraq. And he helped the "Flying Nightmares" of Marine Attack Squadron 513 build a softball field to help improve morale. "He's one of those petty officers you can count on to get the job done," a shipmate wrote.

IT1 Latrice Drayton

Information Systems Technician 1st Class Latrice Drayton is "nothing less than outstanding," wrote one chief in a nomination for Drayton, calling her one of the best first-class petty officers he's seen in his 17-year Navy career.

"A poster-perfect sailor," wrote another.

In addition to successfully overseeing her team and a budget of $225,000, Drayton is president of the ship's Morale, Welfare and Recreation team, and is renowned for orchestrating the aircraft carrier Enterprise's Christmas party, finding ways to accommodate more than 4,000 families. "This, in itself is amazing," wrote one shipmate.

Also amazing, her shipmates wrote, was her dedication to mentoring junior sailors new to the Navy and the carrier: "She has proven herself an exemplary leader who is always ready to listen and provide timely, insightful guidance to her junior sailors."

Ship's Serviceman 1st Class Angela Crawford

A native of Hopkinsville, Ky.; enlisted in the Navy in 1990 and served on the submarine tender Emory S. Land during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

NORFOLK, Va. - Before being named Navy Times Sailor of the Year, Ship's Serviceman 1st Class (SW) Angela Crawford already had a little experience with that kind of honor.

As a crewmember on the cruiser Monterey, she has already been enjoying the perks of being the ship's 2006 sailor of the year, among them a parking space on the pier and a four-day pass she hasn't used yet.

Crawford is the leading petty officer for the supply department aboard the Monterey, which has a crew of about 350. The ship returned to Norfolk on April 4 from a deployment as a NATO flagship. Her supervisor, Ensign Juan Espiritusanto, was not the least bit surprised at the news of her back-to-back honors.

"She's my rock. What can I say?" he said. "She's very squared away."

Crawford grew up in Pembroke, Ky., and joined the Navy in 1990. "I just wanted to see something different outside Kentucky," she said. "All we have in Kentucky are lakes."

Her first ship was the now-decommissioned repair ship Vulcan. She later served on the submarine tender Emory S. Land during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

"I was pretty excited to be part of something historical going on," she said. "My mom wasn't too thrilled about it."

She served on two aircraft carriers - the Nimitz and the Theodore Roosevelt - before transferring from the TR to the Monterey four years ago. She says she likes serving on a "small boy" - as the Navy's smaller ships are affectionately known - because the crew is close-knit.

"You get to know everybody by name. People look out for each other," she said.

Her division runs the ship store, the barber shop, the laundry and the vending machines.

She's also the command's Sexual Assault Victim Intervention representative, a member of the damage control training team and the enlisted surface warfare specialist coordinator, and she mentors seven of her younger shipmates. Three of her sailors earned meritorious command advancement promotions last year.

"With all my collateral duties, there's very little downtime," she said. "I sleep when I can."

In his Sailor of the Year recommendation for Crawford, the Monterey's commander, Capt. Robert Oldani, said she has "the top-notch leadership and technical abilities of a seasoned chief petty officer."

As the sailor who runs the ship store, hers is a world where the little things count; she ensures that sailors don't go without the supplies that can make a difference when it comes to morale. In her workspace, there's a list of things the ship can never be without, including razors, cigarettes, shampoo and socks.

"They need to be able to wash their clothes, brush their teeth and smoke," she said. "It's for morale."

Lt. Cmdr. Russ Sanchez is the ship's combat systems officer and occasionally serves as acting commander. He said Crawford's latest honor makes her a role model to other Navy women.

"She's very humble," he said. "She's a hard worker. She doesn't ask for a lot of the limelight."

Crawford is up for promotion to chief petty officer and she hopes for shore duty as a substance abuse rehabilitation counselor on base in Norfolk.

Maj. John Griffin

Marine officer instructor, Boston University Griffin uses his experience as an infantry officer and prior enlisted Marine to improve training for more than 100 future naval officers. While serving as the training cadre's battalion adviser, the officer-instructor is also working toward a master's degree in Middle Eastern affairs at Harvard University.

Staff Sgt. Karl Moheiser

Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Moheiser returned from a six-month deployment to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, in July 2006 and got back to work training more than 40 leathernecks to support Marine Aircraft Group 14 and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14. He also managed eight division naval aviation maintenance programs for quality and assurance. His master sergeant described him as a Marine he has complete confidence in. "Given 24 hours to deploy, he would be one of the first staff sergeants I would select," Master Sgt. Wyatt Lamson said.

Gunnery Sgt. Brian Corley

To meet recruiting demands, Corley gets involved with his community as much as he can.

Corley uses his recruit-training experience as a former drill instructor to teach 12 high school drill teams, one of which placed second in the North Carolina state drill competition.

Maj. Jeffery Morgan, Corley's commander at Recruiting Station Raleigh, N.C., said the gunnery sergeant makes sure to follow up with his recruits long after they've become Marines. Even if they don't commit to joining the Corps, Corley makes sure to follow up with them and their family.

"When you are working, especially with kids from broken homes or foster homes, it's important to show someone cares," he said.

Sgt. Maj. David Devaney

He recently became the top enlisted Marine for Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 4; he was previously stationed with the 2nd Beach and Terminal Operations Company in Savannah, Ga.

Devaney wrote a handbook about coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and other tips to deal with combat. His former unit gave them out to deploying Marines. He took leave for 10 days and spent 20 hours a day typing the 108-page handbook. Several hundred copies have been distributed.

Major Theodore Wong

Began his military career as an enlisted Marine in 1985; mentors local youth through Devil Pups and Young Marines programs.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The Iraqi city of Khalidiya hadn't been patrolled for 15 months when Reserve Maj. Theodore Wong arrived Sept. 5, 2005, as the executive officer of an Iraqi army company.

His vehicle traveled up and down the city's main road as then-Staff Sgt. Jay Hunter patrolled on foot with the Iraqi forces.

Then the enemy attacked - a roadside bomb hit the foot patrol and small-arms fire erupted from three positions.

"It was a typical death blossom," Wong said.

Wong heard the explosion and rushed toward the sound of the guns, drawing enemy fire by exposing himself long enough for Hunter and the Iraqi soldiers to set up a perimeter and evacuate the wounded.

Though the encounter was Wong's first experience with receiving and returning enemy fire, he's no stranger to deployments.

Wong has spent 42 of the last 60 months on active duty and estimates he's been mobilized for 10 of his 22 years in the Reserve.

Wong, 42, is an air command-and-control officer by training, an infantryman by billet and practice, and a persistent force for good in his community.

His life is filled with business cards, address books and scraps of paper with names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for hundreds of contacts in the San Francisco Bay area, where he commands Headquarters Company, 23rd Marine Regiment.

To hear his fellow leathernecks tell it, Wong, who began his service in 1985 as an enlisted Marine, seems to be everywhere in his community at once.

He mentors youths in the local Devil Pups and Young Marines programs; leads fourth- and fifth-grade students at Junipero Serra Elementary School in exercises; maintains a letter-writing campaign for deployed troops; organizes volunteers to greet troops upon their return from war; visits those recovering from traumatic brain injuries at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.; speaks to local veterans organizations; and promotes the Corps enough to have 15 enlistments to his credit.

Wong can keep up with his extensive community involvement because of the flexible hours offered by his employer, semiconductor company Xandex Inc., of Petaluma, Calif., where he works in marketing.

"It's part of being a reservist. You're supposed to volunteer in your community," Wong said. "It's karma. It feels good to do good things, and you can do good things unconditionally."

In his 10 months as 23rd Marines' regimental commander, Col. Richard McMonagle has seen Wong's passion for community involvement, placing it on equal footing with the passion Wong exhibits toward his company command.

"Rarely is there an event I go to that he's not at on his own time," McMonagle said. "This is certainly a liberal town, and it's important in this kind of area that Marines are out and visible. He's the citizen Marine we want in the reserves, and he represents the Corps well."

At the regiment's headquarters in San Bruno, Calif., Wong's command philosophy is thumbtacked to a bulletin board in the hallway.

"Public service," he wrote, is a way of life for a Reserve Marine. "As citizen soldiers, we need to contribute to our communities by telling the Marine Corps story, supporting recruiting goals and promoting goodwill by setting the example."

McMonagle said reservists in his command have to "balance a number of things active-duty Marines don't," such as their civilian careers.

For the regiment's Marines, Wong's extensive community involvement isn't just a way to promote the Corps in the San Francisco area, it's a way to keep the unit ready for battle by limiting their civilian worries.

"You need a job, a place to stay? He's our clearinghouse,"1st Sgt. Lawrence Wei said. "He knows everybody and helps out his Marines at all times."

Maj. Richard Doherty, the regiment's assistant operations officer, agreed.

"That's why we call him the mayor," he said.

Chaplain LTC John Morris

An Iraq veteran and deputy state chaplain for the Minnesota Army National Guard, Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John Morris determined that the community needed to be better educated about the needs of troops returning from deployment. He launched a program called, /"Beyond the Yellow Ribbon,/" through which more than 10,000 community leaders in Minnesota have been briefed and more than 100 training events have taken place statewide. The program aims to help soldiers, military families and communities with the transition from combat zone to civilian life. He then established Family Readiness Academies, which help family members understand soldiers' needs and provide resources to meet them. Nearly 1,500 family members have attended so far.