An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Article Display

USO recognizes Sailor for honor, courage, commitment

  • Published
  • By James L. Hodges
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST --  The core values of the U.S. Navy - honor, courage and commitment - are more than a philosophy for work. For Master at Arms 1st Class Cole Schultz, 87th Security Forces Squadron/Lakehurst, they are a way to approach every day.

The Liberty USO of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey annually awards one member from each of the five Armed Services as Servicemember of the Year. On Oct. 1, Schultz was awarded this honor for the U.S. Navy for showing honor to those he works with, courage while deployed and commitment to the community he lives in.

Schultz's decision to join the military was influenced not only by his family's Navy service and growing up in the land-locked state of Montana but also Sept. 11 during his senior year in high school. After speaking with Navy recruiters, Schultz decided the U.S. Navy was the best fit for him, and officials at the USO are not the only ones who think so.

"He has been an All Star since joining the Navy," said Master at Arms Chief Brooks 87th SFS/LKH. "His accomplishments do not begin at the gates of JB MDL."

At the end of 2008, Schultz deployed for one year with a SEAL team to Iraq. "He earned the operators respect as a hard worker and the go-to guy," said Brooks. "He was one of the few non-special operators to go outside the wire and conduct real-world missions."

Returning to Lakehurst, Schultz volunteered to be a member of the 87th SFS Special Reaction Team and was one of twelve Master at Arms throughout the entire Navy who was promoted to petty officer first class. Based on these accomplishments, Schultz was selected to lead his department, where Brooks says "he has taken his real-world experiences from Iraq and passed them down to the junior Sailors in the department.

"For him to receive this prestigious award lets other Sailors know that hard work and dedication to the mission at hand ultimately pays off."

While this recognition for his courage and dedication is welcomed, Schultz says "It's never about any awards. You do the things that you do because you want to help people out."

Schultz helps his family and community by volunteering his time with his church and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

"My brother has muscular dystrophy; that's how my family got involved with it," said Schultz. "You go to camps and you see little kids in Sunday school and it makes you want to make them better people."

For Sailors seeking acknowledgment for their hard work, Schultz has some advice: It's all about the attitude.

"If you love your job and you come to work every day loving your job everything else is just going to fall into line and come naturally."

The five servicemembers, three from the joint base, who received recognition on Oct. 1 met at the Loews hotel in Philadelphia for breakfast before touring the USS New Jersey.
"Being a Navy guy, that was cool, getting to seeing things that other tours didn't get to see," said Schultz.

After lunch at the Union League, Schultz and his fellow servicemembers were awarded citations from the city council at the Philadelphia City Hall. The awards were handed out later that evening during the USO's annual Gala, which Schultz said was "awesome."

"To just sit and talk with the other four servicemembers and find out how things are going was a unique situation and it was really cool," said Schultz. "The whole day was pretty amazing."