Mengistu Earns Military Excellence Award at Recruit Training Command

GREAT LAKES (NNS) – Seaman Bamlak Mengistu graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes, earning the Military Excellence Award (MEA) Oct. 22, 2026.

Mengistu, 22, of Woodbridge, Virginia, had been in the United States only about nine months when she learned she was the top recruit of her entire training group. She could hardly believe it.

“My first thought was, is this real, or am I dreaming,” Mengistu said. “To make the top six percent was one thing, but to be chosen as the number one recruit, I was shocked. I moved to the United States about nine months ago, and I’m honestly still learning how things work and adjusting to a new environment. To be number one at that point showed me that if you set your mind on a goal and truly work hard for it, even the sky is not the limit.”

The Military Excellence Award is presented to the recruit who best demonstrates enthusiasm, devotion to duty, military bearing and teamwork throughout training. As part of the recognition, recipients receive a flag letter of commendation.

For Mengistu, the Navy represented something larger than a career. It was a fresh start.

“I joined for a few reasons, but the first is that I feel lucky to have a second chance to start over and pursue my dream, and I got that chance because of the United States,” Mengistu said. “I want to serve this country to the best of my ability. I’ve also always been fascinated by the medical field, how the human body works and how you can help people, from a simple headache to the most extreme cases. The Navy gave me the opportunity to make that dream come true as a hospital corpsman. And I joined to better myself and my family, to keep developing while I work toward my goals.”

Early in training, she was chosen as a section leader, a role that reshaped how she saw herself.

“Being a section leader helped me understand my shipmates and work together with them,” Mengistu said. “It taught me how to manage and how to lead. Even then, I never imagined I would be chosen as number one.”

The push to keep reaching higher came from her RDCs, whose example she said built the person she became. One in particular, her third RDC, Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Sarrade, gave her a line she carried through the rest of training.

“He taught me to be competitive and to work as a group,” Mengistu said. “He told me, if you’re reaching for the roof, jump for the sky. Don’t set your limits low. If you want something, take it, because no one is going to hand you what you want in life. You have to work for it, and always stay one step ahead.”

The hardest part of boot camp drew on every bit of that advice. For Mengistu, it meant learning to function as one piece of a team while carrying the weight of everything she’d left behind.

“The hardest part was learning to work with people from so many different backgrounds, as a group instead of as an individual, all while missing my family and friends and holding to military standards,” Mengistu said. “I dealt with it by putting myself in other people’s shoes, trying to understand where they were coming from, listening and sharing ideas with my shipmates. Missing family is impossible to escape, but I kept reminding myself of my goal. The next time they see me, I’ll be a proud Navy Sailor standing for this country, someone they can be proud of.”

She credited her university years in accounting and finance with preparing her for the pace of training, teaching her to manage her time, communicate and adapt quickly to new situations.

"In college, you have to always be prepared for the next challenge," she said. "There's always something new or something that comes up that you have to adjust to. The Navy is very similar, and that experience helped me with this one."

Her RDCs were Chief Petty Officer Cherryane Deleon, Petty Officer 1st Class Alonzo Turner Jr. and Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Sarrade.

Following graduation, Mengistu will report to Hospital Corps “A” school in San Antonio, Texas, for training in patient care and first aid procedures.

Training at RTC is approximately nine weeks long, and all enlistees in the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy’s only boot camp.

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