thedrifter
07-06-05, 06:21 AM
Sailor of the Year.
July 06,2005
Chris Mazzolini
Freedom ENC
JACKSONVILLE - Shannon Dittlinger actually wanted to join the Marine Corps. But she also wanted a career in medicine.
So 12 years ago, a Marine recruiter told her that to work in the medical profession - and have contact with the Marines - she would have to go next door and talk with the Navy.
Dittlinger, now a chief petty officer first class living in Jacksonville, did exactly that.
It turned out to be a lucky deal for the Navy, because Dittlinger has come to embody everything it stands for.
This month, the 32-year-old Dittlinger, who is stationed at the New River Branch Medical Clinic, was named the Navy's Shore Sailor of the Year, beating out about 50,000 sailors.
She recalls the ceremony at the Pentagon when they read her name as the winner.
"I couldn't have heard it right," she said. "There's no way I just won."
The process to win the award began in February 2004, when Dittlinger won the Sailor of the Quarter award at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa, where she served as the command career counselor, leading petty officer of the command color guard and senior enlisted leader of the manpower and administrative support department.
After that, she moved her way up the award echelon, winning awards for Marine Forces Pacific and the entire Pacific Fleet. Throughout the process, she faced constant review by boards that looked at every aspect of her record and grilled her on the Navy and its procedures. She said the process was nerve-racking but somehow she made it.
"I don't think it's really hit me yet," she said. "It's a whirlwind and it's an honor. People say you're the superstar. But I took care of my sailors; that's what we're supposed to do."
As a child, Dittlinger said she always knew she would end up in the military. Her father was in the Army, her grandfather served in the Navy, and she had an aunt in the Air Force. The fact that no one in her family had served with the Marines peaked her interest in the Corps, along with some Marine veterans.
"My dad had a buddy who was into motorcycles," she said. "He was a Vietnam vet. He spoke about being a Marine and what it meant to him."
After joining the Navy, Dittlinger went to boot camp in Orlando, Fla., followed by further training in Great Lakes, Ill. She went back to Orlando for a year, then came to the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune. While she was here that first time, she met her husband, Timothy, who is also a petty officer first class in the Navy. After serving with 2nd Force Service Support Group for a time, Timothy was transferred to Okinawa, and Dittlinger went with him.
"They offered him the choices of Okinawa, Okinawa or Okinawa," she said with a laugh.
Timothy, 35, who currently serves as an independent duty corpsman at the School of Infantry at Camp Geiger, said he is extremely proud of his wife.
"She took a billet that she didn't necessarily want and she made it into something special," he said. "She worked really hard to make it succeed in an area that's really hard to exceed in.
"With me being gone a lot, she stayed focused on her job, took care of the kids. She deserves everything she has been awarded."
Dittlinger's next step is another trip to Washington where, on July 15, she will be promoted to chief petty officer, one week before her 12-year anniversary in the Navy. Dittlinger said she is thrilled to receive the promotion, an upgrade many enlisted sailors never receive and rarely given before 12 years.
Following her promotion is a one-year stint in the Pentagon, serving as a special assistant to the master chief petty officer of the Navy.
"For me to have made it this far at only 12 years is really an accomplishment," she said. "It's like a fairy tale. When I joined, I didn't know what I was getting into. I just wanted to serve."
http://www.newbernsj.com/Photo/local570605.jpg
Don Bryan/Freedom ENC
Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Dittlinger is pictured at her home in Rock Creek. The 32-year-old, who is stationed at the New River Branch Medical Clinic, was named the Navy’s Shore Sailor of the Year.
Ellie
The pix was placed in for You folks that like to only read the articles:D
July 06,2005
Chris Mazzolini
Freedom ENC
JACKSONVILLE - Shannon Dittlinger actually wanted to join the Marine Corps. But she also wanted a career in medicine.
So 12 years ago, a Marine recruiter told her that to work in the medical profession - and have contact with the Marines - she would have to go next door and talk with the Navy.
Dittlinger, now a chief petty officer first class living in Jacksonville, did exactly that.
It turned out to be a lucky deal for the Navy, because Dittlinger has come to embody everything it stands for.
This month, the 32-year-old Dittlinger, who is stationed at the New River Branch Medical Clinic, was named the Navy's Shore Sailor of the Year, beating out about 50,000 sailors.
She recalls the ceremony at the Pentagon when they read her name as the winner.
"I couldn't have heard it right," she said. "There's no way I just won."
The process to win the award began in February 2004, when Dittlinger won the Sailor of the Quarter award at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa, where she served as the command career counselor, leading petty officer of the command color guard and senior enlisted leader of the manpower and administrative support department.
After that, she moved her way up the award echelon, winning awards for Marine Forces Pacific and the entire Pacific Fleet. Throughout the process, she faced constant review by boards that looked at every aspect of her record and grilled her on the Navy and its procedures. She said the process was nerve-racking but somehow she made it.
"I don't think it's really hit me yet," she said. "It's a whirlwind and it's an honor. People say you're the superstar. But I took care of my sailors; that's what we're supposed to do."
As a child, Dittlinger said she always knew she would end up in the military. Her father was in the Army, her grandfather served in the Navy, and she had an aunt in the Air Force. The fact that no one in her family had served with the Marines peaked her interest in the Corps, along with some Marine veterans.
"My dad had a buddy who was into motorcycles," she said. "He was a Vietnam vet. He spoke about being a Marine and what it meant to him."
After joining the Navy, Dittlinger went to boot camp in Orlando, Fla., followed by further training in Great Lakes, Ill. She went back to Orlando for a year, then came to the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune. While she was here that first time, she met her husband, Timothy, who is also a petty officer first class in the Navy. After serving with 2nd Force Service Support Group for a time, Timothy was transferred to Okinawa, and Dittlinger went with him.
"They offered him the choices of Okinawa, Okinawa or Okinawa," she said with a laugh.
Timothy, 35, who currently serves as an independent duty corpsman at the School of Infantry at Camp Geiger, said he is extremely proud of his wife.
"She took a billet that she didn't necessarily want and she made it into something special," he said. "She worked really hard to make it succeed in an area that's really hard to exceed in.
"With me being gone a lot, she stayed focused on her job, took care of the kids. She deserves everything she has been awarded."
Dittlinger's next step is another trip to Washington where, on July 15, she will be promoted to chief petty officer, one week before her 12-year anniversary in the Navy. Dittlinger said she is thrilled to receive the promotion, an upgrade many enlisted sailors never receive and rarely given before 12 years.
Following her promotion is a one-year stint in the Pentagon, serving as a special assistant to the master chief petty officer of the Navy.
"For me to have made it this far at only 12 years is really an accomplishment," she said. "It's like a fairy tale. When I joined, I didn't know what I was getting into. I just wanted to serve."
http://www.newbernsj.com/Photo/local570605.jpg
Don Bryan/Freedom ENC
Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Dittlinger is pictured at her home in Rock Creek. The 32-year-old, who is stationed at the New River Branch Medical Clinic, was named the Navy’s Shore Sailor of the Year.
Ellie
The pix was placed in for You folks that like to only read the articles:D