USS George Washington Wins Third consecutive Retention Award
Story by MCSA Brian H. Abel, USS George Washington Public Affairs

The crew of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) recently won the Navy’s Retention Excellence Award for the third consecutive year.

The award is presented by the Department of the Navy to the command that reaches the highest level of re-enlistments. Any ship that receives the award is allowed to paint its anchors gold. The George Washington was recognized for giving Sailors opportunities to re-enlist and further advance their careers., and will have its anchors painted gold again.

“We’re here to make sure Sailors have the correct information for all the programs available to them,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Fraasch, a command career counselor. “If people want to stay in we give them the information they need to continue their career.”

Sailors have to do their part to stay in the U.S. Navy. Each service member needs to maintain physical readiness, a strong work ethic and good conduct in and out of uniform.

“Sailors need to advance as quickly as they can, get good evaluations and not get into trouble,” he said.
Sailors have a variety of options to make the Navy a long-term career. One path service members can take is to go from enlisted to commissioned officer.

“There are over 35 officer programs to choose from,” said Fraasch. “You can apply for medical, engineering, supply and aviation.”

Fraasch also said that winning the award was an all-hands accomplishment.

“This was a command effort,” he said. “Navy Councilors are just a piece of the puzzle. All the Sailors, chiefs and officers played a part too. It’s not just one person’s work.”

The command offers dedicated time every week to improve test scores for promotion through a program called School of Ship (SoS). Through programs such as SoS, George Washington saw a massive increase in advancement rates of 25 percent during the last advancement cycle from the September 2011 Navywide advancement exam.