Lake County Journal

RTC sponsor divisions give recruits added incentive

Capt. Steven Ashworth, commanding officer, Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Maryland, served as the Guest of Honor during the Pass in Review at Recruit Training Command (RTC), on Oct. 8. Of particular interest to him were the 75 graduating sailors from Division 331.
    NIOC Maryland served as Division 331's sponsor throughout the division's eight weeks of training. From beginning to end, Division 331 had the encouragement and support of a command and saw what was in store for them as sailors in the fleet.
    "It was our hope that our sponsorship would give the recruits a sense of purpose," Ashworth said. "That during their training they would have a vision of what life will be like after Great Lakes."
    The recruits were not the only ones who benefited from the sponsorship, according to Ashworth. NIOC staff also gained from the experience.
    "The sponsorship was very motivating for the Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Mess that made the visits to RTC," Ashworth said. "They were directly involved in shaping the recruits that someday will be their shipmates."
    Sponsorships, which are open to all fleet entities, began through an interest from the Command Leadership School, Senior Enlisted Academy and fleet commands. They were interested in mentoring recruits during boot camp.  From that interest, a sponsorship program began that now draws in approximately 45 fleet sponsors per year.
    The mentorship and direct contact from this learning tool benefits both sponsors and the recruits, and serves to create a bond between the recruits and the fleet.
    "Sponsors have the opportunity to shape a recruit's career," ATCS Roxann Blackman, recruit division sponsorship coordinator, said. "Right away, they are exposed to the fleet and the Navy way of life. This carries on throughout the eight weeks that a recruit is here."
    Throughout the sponsorship, sponsors have four opportunities to visit the division. The first visit is the division's commissioning ceremony and gives the sponsors a chance to motivate the division prior to the start of training.
    Completed in the same fashion that the Navy traditionally establishes new ships, squadrons and shore installations, the sponsors mark the commissioning occasion with the opportunity to speak to the recruits and present the division with a flag featuring the sponsor's logo.
    Sponsors are encouraged to visit divisions during important milestones throughout training including running with the division during their Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA), participating in the Battle Stations 21 (BST-21) capping ceremony and attending Pass-in-Review. 
    Although the sponsor sends  five to 10 staff  members to RTC  at various points throughout training,  all member s of the command  must be involved to make the sponsorship work. 
    "All costs associated with the sponsorship are funded by the sponsor," Blackman said. "To pay expenses accrued through the sponsorship, commands raise funds from their staff through donations and fundraisers."
    An important goal of a sponsorship is that it adds immensely to introducing the recruits to the Navy.
    "The sponsors motivated the recruits to work harder," ITCS Troy Thibeaux, Recruit Division Commander (RDC) of Division 331, said. "They felt they were part of a very unique team chosen to represent the best recruit division in the training group."
    The key factor in the success of the sponsorship is the involvement.
    "The interaction between the sponsors and the recruits is very important," AE1 James Messey, RDC of Division 331, said. "The viewpoints that sponsors bring from the fleet is a great addition to boot camp curriculum. It puts all the things that are done in boot camp into perspective."
    A sponsorship is what the sponsors make of it. The more involved sponsors are with the division, the more motivated the recruits are. Many sponsors go above and beyond the suggested list of recommendations.
    "The sponsors at NIOC were awesome," Thibeaux said. "They provided physical training T-shirts for the division and gave each recruit a command coin. The T-shirts were very unique in a way because the CPO mess put their twist on the shirts which said 'Boot Camp Tested, Fleet Accepted.' The recruits wore the shirts with pride."