My Son Sailor of the Year !

MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- Some Sailors are destined for greatness. If you were to ask the headquarters staff of Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) to name an example, many would point you to Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class (SW/AW) William Barker, CNRC’s Sailor of the Year.
“I’m still trying to figure out why I won this award,” said Barker. “I think a lot of it has to do with my success at such a junior level. I came to this command as a junior E5 not knowing really what to expect. I got some good mentorship and talked to everyone I could for guidance on what I need to do to succeed and put on 1st class.”
The guidance certainly helped this hard charging Sailor. Barker put on a third chevron soon after arriving at CNRC. “When I put on 1st class I was ready. It felt comfortable.”
Even before that, Barker’s ability and leadership were apparent. As an IC2, he won Junior Sailor of the Quarter (JSOQ) for CNRC and also for the entire
Command’s
Gabriel Owens, Navy Recruiting Command Public Affairs
different areas, needing their voice mail set up,” said Barker. “I manage and audit all the telecommunication calls around the command and I pay the phone bills. But the main thing is customer service.”
This hard work is just one of the reasons Barker found himself in front of SOQ and SOY boards time and time again. But it doesn’t rattle him. “I never get nervous for the boards, I get excited,” he said. “I grew up in choir and band and such, so I’m used to being in front of people. Confidence is important. Step back and listen and learn so you can better tell them what they’re looking for. Keep your packages strong, have your chain of command constantly looking at them, and stay heavily involved.”
In addition, Barker has several collateral duties both in the command and around NSA Mid-South. But to Barker, it’s not the quantity of collaterals, it’s the effort you put into them.
“It’s not about having a ton of collateral duties,” he said. “It’s what you do with the ones you have. Too many people have the idea that a key to success is being involved in every collateral duty they can get their hands on. I think oftentimes you end up not doing a whole lot with those duties other than having them as a bullet on an eval.
“You need to really work your collateral duties and make a difference in them,” said Barker. “I’m on the command training team and we’re very proactive in making sure the training gets done. I’m also a member of the American heritage diversity team for the base.”
He is equally proactive in his role as a mentor. “You can say ‘oh, I’m so and so’s mentor, but if you don’t do anything with that Sailor it’s a meaningless title. You have to get involved with that Sailor’s career and really help them build success.”
He cites the mentorship he received from around the command as helping him to achieve his goals. “I can think of several people who helped me, like Electronics Technician Senior Chief(SS) Rodney Mackey, Hospital Corpsman Chief Ginger Roganti and Ret. HMC(AW/FMF) Monica) Bairos. These people are among my ‘unofficial’ mentors.
“If I thought of everyone here who’s helped me I’d be up all night,” said Barker. “The trick is taking notes from everybody and learning. Not just from khakis but from your fellow blue shirts.”
Mentors like Mackey are quick to praise Barker. “I nicknamed him ‘Action Jackson,’ because ever since I met him, he’s been a go-getter,” said Mackey. “You ask him to do something and he gets it done, he makes it happen. I’m not surprised he’s the Sailor of
of the Year!
See SOY, pg. 17
Left: IC1(SW/AW) William Barker troubleshoots a phone line at Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) Headquarters in Millington, Tenn. Above: Barker checks his trouble call log for action items.
12
SUFFOLK, Va. – At approximately 4:30 pm April 28, Navy Recruiting Station Suffolk in Suffolk, Va. was destroyed by a tornado. The station was in the Freedom Plaza Mall, which was also destroyed. There were no injuries reported of the three recruiters assigned to the station.
Boatswain’s Mate First Class (EXW/SW) Joe Cantu and Culinary Specialist First Class (SW) Malcolm Gardner, recruiters assigned to the station, were in the building during the tornado and sought shelter under desks as the tornado hit. Both were not injured.
After the tornado hit, Cantu, Gardner and Gunner’s Mate First Class (SW) Paul Denton, the third recruiter assigned to the station, assisted emergency officials with evacuating other victims from the wreckage in the Plaza, as well as from the Sentara Obici Hospital, which was nearby the recruiting station. All three Sailors assisted with the recovery efforts and also helped search nearby homes for other victims.
The recruiters were not aware of the tornado
before it hit.
“It rained off and on all morning, there were clouds overhead, but we didn’t know there was a tornado
Navy Sailors
the Year, or millennium, which they haven’t invented yet but I just did,” laughed Mackey.
“He’s that good. He’s an outstanding Sailor. You’d never know he has a wife and five kids with the way he works,” said Mackey. “You’d think the guy’s single. They need to excuse the requirement for service time and just go ahead and put khakis on him.”
Barker’s department head, Kevin Sullivan, feels the same way. “IC1 Barker’s total commitment to mission success and unselfish dedication to his shipmates are what sets him apart. His broad job scope and professional responsibilities far exceed that of most Sailors in his rank, yet his performance across-the-board has been consistently outstanding. He serves as a mentor to junior personnel and a trusted advisor to senior leadership.
“IC1 Barker always appeals to the ‘greater good’ of the team,” said Sullivan. “He readily subordinates his personal desires, recognitions, and accolades to that of the overall unit. There are no limits to his potential in the senior enlisted or officer ranks.”
But it isn’t just senior leadership Barker learns from. “I work together with several other junior E6s and we help each other out in our careers,” said Barker. “You learn from everybody. My ‘mentee’ is (Yeoman Third Class David) Norman, I learn from him. It’s not just a one-way mentorship.”
His unselfishness is obvious. “Now that I’ve made my mark, I’m stepping back and letting other people in my shop become more visible,” Barker said. “2008 is not about me, it’s now about bringing up the people I work with to a similar level and letting them shine. I’m not greedy. I don’t keep secrets.”
His large family keeps him busy when he’s not at work. His wife Danielle recently gave birth to their second set of twin boys in addition to another son.
“While she was pregnant, I had to step up household duties as well as balancing it with work,” he said. “It’s hectic. I wake up in the morning, get all the kids up, dressed and fed, get Ethan (the oldest son) on the bus. Then I go to work. Come home for lunch, put the twins down for a nap. Come home from work, wash, rinse, repeat.
“I contribute a lot of my success to Danielle,” said Barker. “She’s a former Sailor herself and we met in the Navy. She knows what Navy life is about, and that helps a lot. A lot of what I do I couldn’t have done without her.”
Despite all of his work and household duties, the former choir and band member still loves to be involved in the community. “I sing the national anthem for a slew of events around town. I’m also member of the Parent-Teacher Association at Ethan’s school and help kids at the school after hours with reading.”
This leaves little time for personal hobbies, but when the occasional down time presents itself, Barker loves playing video games and board games with his wife.
Overall, Barker is extremely pleased in his decision to come to CNRC after two sea tours. “I’m glad I could come here and see this side of the Navy. I hope I made everyone at HQ proud,” he said. “This is the first time in a long time HQ won SOY for CNRC. We do important work, and I think a lot of the NRDs don’t get a chance to see that. It’s not just me that won, it’s all of us.”
Perhaps CNRC’s Force Master Chief (SW/AW) Christopher Penton sums up Barker the best. “IC1 is the BEST Sailor I’ve run into in 27 years in the Navy. And I’ve been the Command Master Chief on many different platforms and many different commands, but this guy is the future of what the Navy is going to be.”
“Outstanding as an E5, outstanding as an E6,” said Penton. “If we had an assembly line where we could clone IC1, I’d happily set it up because he’s the kind of Sailor the Navy needs. He’s one of those guys who energizes me. Every once in a while in a long career, you come across someone who reminds you why you serve ... it’s working