The TRA is delighted to announce the 2nd year of our annual program of which we can all be proud. Some of the sailors of our ship, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), do not have the resources to go home to visit their families, sometimes for years, for a variety of reasons. In cooperation with the Chiefs, we have designed a program we are calling Homeward Bound for the Holidays to send sailors home. The Captain, Executive Officer and Command Master Chief recognized these three special sailors in early December 2019: HM3 Jennifer Melendez, ISSA Joshua Kennedy and AOAN Samir Sanz.
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HM3 Jennifer Melendez recently divorced and co-parenting with her ex-husband has made thie past year very challenging for her, but it has never affected her work. In fact, she has been a large contributor to the department’s continued success and was selected as both the Theodore Roosevelt and Strike Group Nine’s 3rd Quarter Blue Jacket Sailor of the Quarter. She has expressed that her daughter is the biggest motivation in her life and that she makes every effort to see her. The opportunity to see her daughter has been limited due to deployment work ups and limited financial resources. She was able to go home to see her daughter in Virginia during the holiday POM period.
(Left to Right: XO Peter Reibe, HM3 Jennifer Melendez, CMC Michael Hackley, Captain Brett Crozier)
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ISSA Joshua Kennedy has been onboard for approximately 2 months (coming straight from boot camp and IS 'A' school). His hometown is Atlanta, Georgia. He joined the Navy because of his admiration of his Grandfather, a retired Master Chief, who served onboard the USS Laffey and his brother who served for 5 years as a F-18 aviation mechanic. In his short time onboard ISSA has integrated into our INTEL team seamlessly. He jumped right in during our team trainers and immersed himself stepping up to the task of Red Database Manager tracking and reporting on 127 exercise threat contacts during simulated hostile conditions. He was able to go home and see his family in Georgia and accompany them to Ohio for a family reunion prior to the deployment.
(Left to Right: CMC Michael Hackley, Captain Brett Crozier, ISSN Joshua Kennedy, XO Peter Reibe)
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AOAN Samir Sanz works in S-2M. He has been very impressive in his work ethic and how he carries himself daily. He grew up in a rough part of New York and joined the navy to broaden his horizons and make a name for himself. AOAN Sanz helps support his family by sending home money periodically. He didn’t take the USS TRs early POM leave so he could save up for the Holiday POM. He is much deserving of the TRA round-trip paid airfare for the Holidays!
(Left to Right: XO Peter Reibe, AOAN Samir Sanz, Captain Brett Crozier, CMC Michael Hackley
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Past Recipients