Mariposa Native Earns Navy Career Counselor Of The Year Honors
Calaveras, CA– Navy Counselor 1st Class Steven Gardner, assigned to Navy Service Support Advanced Training Command, has been named the Navy’s fiscal year 2024 Personnel, Manpower, and Training Career Counselor of the Year. Gardner, a Mariposa native, stood out among more than 300 peers competing at levels ranging from the Center for Service Support to the Chief of Naval Personnel. The award recognizes exceptional dedication to counseling and supporting Sailors’ careers.
“This is probably the highest recognition you could give to a fleet Navy counselor,” Gardner said. “I don’t know how I managed to get this far because our rating is full of highly intelligent, competitive first classes. I just come to work and take care of my Sailors.”
Gardner began his Navy career in 2009 as an undesignated airman, reporting first to Strike Fighter Squadron 154. He later trained as an Aviation Support Equipment technician before transitioning into his current role as a Navy counselor. In 2016, Gardner was stationed aboard the USS Iwo Jima, but his wife, Anna, was diagnosed with cancer, prompting a transfer to Naval Station Mayport on humanitarian orders. It was during this time that he served as an assistant command career counselor, which he described as a pivotal experience. Gardner credits his wife’s resilience in her battle with cancer as the driving force behind his decision to continue his Navy career.
“In 2016, I was ready to leave the Navy and had a job lined up with Florida Fish and Wildlife,” Gardner said. “When we learned state employees had a one-year probationary period for medical benefits, it changed everything. She’s the reason I stayed in.”
Navy Service Support Advanced Training Command, part of Naval Education and Training Command’s Center for Service Support, provides advanced education and training to ensure fleet readiness in personnel and service support fields.
