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To coordinate interviews with the awardees, contact Senior Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi at 202-372-4531 or Kyle.N.Niemi@uscg.mil.
WASHINGTON — A Coast Guardsman who is both originally from and currently assigned in Florida was formally recognized as the Coast Guard's top enlisted active-duty member during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet Thursday on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, in Washington, D.C.
The banquet and awards ceremony was held at the Bolling Club on JBAB to recognize the outstanding achievements of Petty Officer 2nd Class Evan M. Ward, the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year — Active-Duty Component.
During the EPOY Banquet, Petty Officer 1st Class Wilton S. Terry was also recognized as the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year — Reserve Component. To learn more about Terry, read the event news release.
Ward is a boatswain's mate assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Valiant, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Mayport, Fla.
Ward is from Fernandina Beach, Fla. He graduated from Florida State University in 2010 with a bachelor of science degree in International Affairs and enlisted in the Coast Guard later in the same year. He is currently assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Valiant’s Navigation Division and has orders to report to Coast Guard Station Ponce De Leon Inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., this summer. As the lead petty officer in Cutter Valiant’s Navigation Division, he oversaw bridge operations including the maintenance of over 700 nautical charts. During 2015, he stood over 500 hours of bridge watch as the cutter’s junior-most deck watch officer, including two night transits of the Panama Canal during a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-South patrol. As Cutter Valiant’s non-compliant vessel pursuit coxswain, Ward skillfully led seven high-risk counter-drug pursuits in 2015, including one of over 100 nautical miles. These pursuits resulted in the seizure of five go-fast vessels, recovery of 3,563 kilograms of cocaine worth $116 million, and arrest of 16 suspected drug smugglers.Ward is also the secretary of Cutter Valiant’s Leadership and Diversity Advisory Council. He spearheaded unit participation in volunteer opportunities including the Special Olympics, Toys for Tots, a Coast Guard museum ship, and a local homeless shelter.“It’s an absolute honor to be recognized as Enlisted Person of the Year,” Ward said during the banquet. “But, right now, as I stand here reflecting on accomplishments, there is another shipmate out in the fleet standing the watch, going above and beyond in leading others, and making an impact in their community. And, that’s what makes me excited to be part of an organization as wonderful as the United States Coast Guard.”Ward was presented the Coast Guard Commendation Medal and received numerous gifts from sponsor organizations.As a result of being selected as the Coast Guard's Enlisted Persons of the Year, Ward was authorized to be meritoriously advanced to the next higher paygrade. During the ceremony, he was advanced from petty officer second class to petty officer first class.
Each year, commanders from each of the Coast Guard's nine districts select one active-duty Coast Guardsman and one Reserve Coast Guardsman 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. More information about the Coast Guard's Enlisted Person of the Year program, including eligibility requirements and entry guidelines, can be found in the commandant instruction.
Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard, attaches a Coast Guard Commendation Medal on the uniform of Petty Officer 2nd Class Evan Ward during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
Ward was recognized during the banquet as the Coast Guard's 2015 Enlisted Person of the Year - Active-Duty Component.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Steven Cantrell present Petty Officer 2nd Class Evan Ward the citation to accompany his Coast Guard Commendation Medal during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
Ward was recognized during the banquet as the Coast Guard's 2015 Enlisted Person of the Year - Active-Duty Component.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
Members of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association and Coast Guard Enlisted Association help Petty Officers Evan Ward and Wilton Terry don new service dress jackets during the during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
As the Coast Guard’s Enlisted Persons of the Year, Ward and Terry were meritoriously advanced to the next higher rate during the banquet, and the CPOA and CGEA gifted them with new uniform jackets pursuant to their new rates.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Steven Cantrell and Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard, pin new collar devices onto the uniform of Evan Ward as he is advanced from petty officer second class to petty officer first class during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
As the Coast Guard's 2015 Enlisted Person of the Year - Active-Duty Component, Ward was authorized a meritorious advancement.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
Adm. Paul Zukunft, commandant of the Coast Guard, Petty Officer 1st Class Evan Ward and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Steven Cantrell pose for a photo during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
Ward was recognized during the banquet as the Coast Guard's 2015 Enlisted Person of the Year - Active-Duty Component.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
Janet Cantrell, one of the Coast Guard’s ombudsmen-at-large, presents a letter of appreciation to Nathalie Such during the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
Such’s boyfriend Evan Ward was recognized during the banquet as the Coast Guard's 2015 Enlisted Person of the Year - Active-Duty Component.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen
The Coast Guard's 2015 Enlisted Persons of the Year pose for a photo with the commandant of the Coast Guard, master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard, and several former EPOYs following the 2015 Coast Guard Enlisted Persons of the Year Banquet at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2016.
Standing left to right are: Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Steven Cantrell; Lt. Cmdr. James Cullen, a 1999 EPOY; Chief Petty Officer Wilton Terry, the 2015 EPOY - Reserve Component; Lt. j.g. Jessica Snyder, a 2011 EPOY; Chief Petty Officer Wesley Mundy, a 2013 EPOY; Petty Officer 1st Class Evan Ward, the 2015 EPOY - Active-Duty Component; Chief Petty Officer Travis Mundy, a 2013 EPOY; and Adm. Paul Zukunft, the commandant of the Coast Guard.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen