Keyport diver wins Navy command's Sailor of the Year

Navy diver Fredrick “Blake” Robinson, Naval Undersea Warfare Center’s sailor of the year, was selected as Naval Sea Systems Command’s Sailor of the Year March 3.

Robinson will represent the command at the vice chief of naval operations’ Shore Sailor of the Year competition. The winner of the contest will be promoted to chief.

The eight sailors competing for the command’s award spent the first week of March in Washington, D.C., touring, meeting with high-ranking military officials and being interviewed by a panel of master chiefs. Sailors were judged on leadership, participation in major projects, continuing education, community involvement and personal interviews.

“I think the sailors I competed with were top-notch,” Robinson said in a statement.

A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., Robinson has been stationed at Keyport’s Dive Locker for three of his 13 years in the Navy. He leads 11 enlisted sailors at the locker. Capt. Stephen E. Iwanowicz, commander of the center, says Robinson’s military professionalism and diving experience assists the center’s mission.

“These guys who are working for me are top- notch,” Robinson said.  “You can’t ask for better.”

Robinson has personally supervised more than 20 diving operations that were safely and successfully executed in extremely aggressive and hazardous water conditions, logging more than 300 hours of incident-free dive time, according to the statement.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety from Columbia Southern University, graduating with a 3.84 grade point average.  He also participated in Touch-A-Truck Day in Poulsbo, Family Days, Naval Undersea Museum activities and food drives in addition to being a Gulf Coast Triathlon safety swimmer.

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