PENSACOLA, Fla. – Naval Education and Training Command’s (NETC) recognized its 2023 Military Instructors of the Year (MIOY) during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, March 6, 2024.

The 2023 MIOY awardees include:

• Junior Enlisted – Operations Specialist 2nd Class Japonica Stallings, Surface Combat Systems Training Command Great Lakes, Illinois.
• Mid-Grade Enlisted – Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Brandonjoe Juan, Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Virginia Beach, Virginia.
• Senior Enlisted – Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Dayne Walton, Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois.
• Officer – Lt. Amanda Brown, IWTC Virginia Beach, Virginia.
• Navy ROTC – Capt. Amish Smith, Navy ROTC Unit University of Idaho/Washington State University.

“These instructors are an exclusive and elite group – the very best our Navy has to offer, each playing a critical role in ensuring that when the Navy fights, we will fight and win decisively,” said NETC Commander Rear Adm. Jeffrey Czerewko. “Every instructor, and these in particular, have a key responsibility to increase the lethality and survivability of our naval forces. Our goal is to deter our adversaries and a well-educated and trained Sailor is the competitive advantage our Navy and the United States has over any enemy.”

Instructors serving throughout the MyNavy HR Force Development domain competed against nearly 11,000 top achievers for this prestigious distinction.

“The five awardees demonstrated superior sustained performance in their instructor roles, excelling as leaders and mentors at their respective commands while actively engaging with their commands and local communities,” said NETC Force Master Chief Rick Mengel.

NETC recruits, trains and delivers those who serve our nation, taking them from “street to fleet,” by transforming civilians into highly skilled, operational, and combat-ready warfighters.

For more information about NETC, visit the command’s website at https://www.netc.navy.mil/ and follow the command’s social media: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NETCHQ, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/netc_hq, X at https://twitter.com/NETC_HQ and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/netchq/.