Welch Earns Military Excellence Award at Recruit Training Command

GREAT LAKES (NNS) – Constructionman Joseph Welch graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes, earning the Military Excellence Award (MEA) Oct. 1, 2026.

Welch, 18, of Oak Harbor, Washington, didn't come to boot camp expecting to stand out. He came hoping to grow up.

"I wasn't confident in my academics after high school, but I found a lot of enjoyment in my wood shop classes, and my teacher was a veteran Seabee," Welch said. "The more I looked into the Navy, the more it seemed like a place where failure wasn't the end, where I could be molded into a humble, capable worker. I believed it gave me the best shot at gaining humility, independence and personal growth."

That belief was tested almost immediately. During processing (p-days), one of his RDCs named him the division's master-at-arms, a leadership position he hadn't asked for and wasn't sure he could hold.

"I was extremely nervous. I was scared of screwing up and losing the position," Welch said. "But my chief led me through my failures. She showed me what leadership looks like through her initiative, her sternness and her confidence. Every time I fell short, she pointed me back to the right path. I'm forever grateful."

He found another source of strength in a fellow recruit from his home state, Alexander Zwolinski, who became something like an older brother over the course of training.

"He was a light of good humor, perseverance and faith, and I looked up to him," Welch said. "We had a lot of talks about the things we were struggling with, in and out of boot camp, and it made us good friends. Whether I was keeping up with him in pushups or he was keeping up with me on division runs, we pushed each other to be the Sailors we wanted to be."

The hardest lesson of boot camp wasn't physical. It was learning that he no longer belonged only to himself.

"The biggest challenge was understanding that I wasn't an individual anymore, that my fellow recruits relied on me," Welch said. "I had to keep reminding myself that if my humility didn't improve, I'd fail the people around me. Getting past it wasn't complicated. It just took consistency, and choosing the benefit of others over my own. And it wasn't the big things. More often than not, the small actions spoke the loudest."

When Welch learned he had been named the MEA winner, the top recruit among 12 divisions, he could hardly believe it.

"It didn't feel real at all," he said. "I kept wondering how I got it, since I never felt like a standout recruit. But I came to boot camp not even aiming for the top, and I achieved it. My RDCs really did help me become stronger, more confident and comfortable being uncomfortable. I realize now that if I keep winning by learning from my failures, I can keep aiming for excellence."

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.

The foundation beneath all of it was laid long before RTC, by two parents who had served before him.

"My mother and father both served in the military, and they showed me what I needed," Welch said. "No matter the job, how long or how short, it has to be done the best it can be done. They taught me that my integrity has to stay intact, because my work is a reflection of me. I can't thank them enough for being shining examples of hard work, patience and love."

His RDCs were Chief Petty Officer Varyssa Moore, Petty Officer 1st Class Shaun Martin, and Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Tyson.

Following graduation, Welch will report to the Naval Construction Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, for Steelworker "A" school, where he will learn to fabricate, weld and rig the steel structures that support Navy Seabee construction projects.

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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