The 2016 Enlisted Persons of the Year pose for a photo with the 2015 Enlisted Persons of the Year following the 2016 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 11, 2017. From left: Petty Officer 1st Class Evan Ward, 2015 EPOY — Active-Duty Component; Seaman Gregory W. Jacquet, 2016 EPOY — Active-Duty Component; Chief Petty Officer Nicole K. Cimino, 2016 EPOY — Reserve Component; and Chief Petty Officer Wilton Terry, 2015 EPOY — Reserve Component. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard’s senior-most leaders formally recognized the service’s top enlisted members during the 2016 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet Thursday at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C.
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Steven W. Cantrell hosted the banquet and awards ceremony to recognize the outstanding achievements of: Petty Officer 1st Class Nicole K. Cimino, the 2016 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year — Reserve Component; and Seaman Gregory W. Jacquet, the 2016 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year — Active-Duty Component.
Cimino is a gunner’s mate assigned to Coast Guard Port Security Unit 313 in Everett, Wash. Jacquet, a former crew member of the Florida-based Coast Guard Cutter Valiant, is currently attending Avionics Electrical Technician “A” School at Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City, N.C.
Cimino and Jacquet were each presented the Coast Guard Commendation Medal and other forms of recognition during the ceremony.
As a result of being selected as the Coast Guard’s Enlisted Person of the Year — Reserve Component, Cimino was meritoriously advanced to the next higher pay grade, chief petty officer. Jacquet will be advanced to petty officer third class upon graduation from AET “A” School.
Banquet guests heard remarks from Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, Deputy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Leilani Cale-Jones, and Coast Guard Reserve Force Master Chief Eric Johnson.
Each year, leaders from each of the Coast Guard’s nine districts select one active-duty Coast Guardsman and one Coast Guard reservist from the units within their geographic boundaries and send nomination packages to the Office of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard. The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard then convenes a panel to review the nine active-duty submissions and the nine reservist submissions, ultimately choosing one awardee for each component.
Photos from the banquet may be viewed at our Flickr page.
