JOANIE VEITCH
Praised for his leadership, S1 Craig Miller earns Sailor of the Quarter award
Par Joanie Veitch,
Équipe du trident
Recognized both for his role as a senior member of HMCS Summerside’s Marine Systems Engineering (MSE) department and for his efforts in boosting morale amongst the ship’s company, S1 Craig Miller received the latest MARLANT Sailor of the Quarter award at a ceremony at HMCS Scotian on August 20.
“This award is meant to recognize one of our sailors who is outstanding in every field, whether it’s professional competency, operational effectiveness, morale within their unit and work outside the unit as an ambassador to the Navy,” said CPO1 Jamie Haas, Fleet Chief Atlantic.
The Sailor of the Quarter award often goes to someone from one of the Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs), added CPO1 Haas. “You guys are the workhorses of the Fleet.”
S1 Miller — a Kingston-class Engineering Watch-keeper and Training Supervisor with HMCS Summerside — was lauded for his diverse technical knowledge, his efforts in organizing engineering drills and providing training aides, and for always looking to learn more.
In the nomination put forward by his command team, S1 Miller was commended for the extra time and work he puts in, “placing considerable effort in not only fixing problems but also mentoring subordinates on solutions and best practices.”
For example, when the ship’s diesel alternators started having some heating issues while in operation, S1 Miller first lead a group of junior sailors to troubleshoot a plan to isolate the problem then worked well into his off-time with other members of the MSE department to coordinate the fix, “effectively remediating the issue and saving countless hours of contractor work during a period of high readiness.”
Along with his regular duties, S1 Miller is also a member of the ship’s welfare committee. He managed the canteen aboard Summerside and got a grant to add more books to the ship’s library, based on the crew’s input. With COVID-19 restrictions often confining the crew to the ship, both those efforts did a lot to boost morale during a difficult time.
“This is a fairly substantial award, in my view,” said Cmdre Christopher Robinson, Commander Canadian Fleet Atlantic, as he gave the award to S1 Miller. “When I was reading his file, what struck me most was his mentorship and leadership. Things like training junior sailors and running the canteen, that is the kind of stuff that is a bit more than we expect, and it’s what makes a ship’s company work.”
S1 Miller, who’s from Saint John, NB and joined the Navy in 2017, thanked the rest of the crew. “I know I got singled out, but it really is more of a team effort,” he said.
HMCS Summerside members receive OSM-Expedition awards
Prior to the Sailor of the Quarter award, Operation Service Medals-Expedition (OSM-Expedition) were given to the following members for their contributions during HMCS Summerside’s deployment on Operation CARIBBE in November 2020: LCdr Anderson; S1 Coshell, S1 Freeman; S1 Graham; MS Knittel; S1 Miller; Lt(N) Mindorff; S3 Moyes; Lt(N) Naylor; S3 Solly; S2 Sonin; S2 Wang; S1 Wannamaker.
