Awards Program

• Candidates must be junior Surface Warfare Officers (SWO) or junior Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialists (ESWS), in the United States Navy, or in the United States Naval Reserve.

Candidates must be paygrade E-3 through E-7, W-2 through W-4, or O-1 through O-4.

• These Candidates must have exhibited sustained excellence in the operational art of Surface Warfare, on US Navy surface ships.
  Deployments must be 120 days or longer away from home port (need not be continuous), during the current fiscal year 01 October- 30 September.
• The Commanding Officer may nominate ONE Officer and ONE Sailor, from the crew, who have displayed exceptional execution of Surface Warfare Operations during the deployment. Every discipline of Operational Surface Warfare should be taken into account when considering selectees. Selectees should have demonstrated superior action or commendable results in one or more of these significant Surface Warfare disciplines.
  These disciplines are not limited to, but include the following: Deck Seamanship, Shiphandling, Weapons Control, Engineering, Maintenance, Damage Control, Navigation, Welldeck & Flightdeck performance, Fiscal Management, Leadership, Training, Command & Control, Communications, Food Service, & Administration.

1. Nomination form MUST be submitted along WITH Commanding Officer write-up. Write-Up's MUST include actions, achievements, and any actions deemed important for the committe to review.
2. The nominee’s accomplishments will be reviewed by the Awards Committee. One officer & one enlisted member from the Atlantic & the Pacific Commands, will be deemed by the Awards Committee to be especially worthy of further recognition. These nominee’s will be brought to the Executive Committee in order to receive an invitation to attend the annual Surface Navy Association National Symposium to accept their award.

How many nominees can a command submit per award?

The Commanding Officer of a deployed ship during the 12 months ending 30 September of this year can forward 2 nominees: their most exceptional Officer (O-1 through O-4, W-2 through W-4) and Enlisted (E-3 through E-7) selectee.
Is an ISIC endorsement required?
No, the criteria of this award was changed in 2016 and the requirement of an ISIC endorsement is no longer needed.
Do you require a hard copy of the award package to be mailed to the SNA office?
No, we prefer all nominations be sent electronically. Please do not send a duplicate in the mail. If you are unable to send electronically, award package can be mailed, but MUST be received by the deadline, 15 October to be considered.
Mailing address: 6564 Loisdale Ct., Suite 318, Springfield, VA 22150

• The intent of the award is to empower officers and enlisted personnel to recognize those who have improved the readiness of the Navy and the lives of those who man it.

Nominations should highlight professional performance and positive leadership qualities and provide examples of visionary actions. In particular, the nomination should include examples of how the individual improved the effectiveness of the organization and the welfare of its people. The nomination should give a clear sense of the nominee’s imaginative talent, which has benefited the command through outstanding planning and execution.

• To be considered, potential recipients must be nominated in writing by an active duty member who may be EQUAL or JUNIOR to them in rank/rate. Each nomination must be accompanied by an endorsement from the Commanding Officer.
  If multiple submissions from a command are received, we may require the CO to rank the nominees. If you have any questions please email awards@navysna.org.
  The award will be presented to active duty Navy Members in pay grade E-3 through O-4 who best exemplifies the ideals of Admiral Zumwalt.

1. The award will be determined by a panel of active duty or retired individuals selected by the Surface Navy Association Executive Director (nominally one flag officer, two senior officers (O5-O6), two junior officers (O3-O4), two senior enlisted (E6-E9) and a member from the sponsor’s staff).
2. Two awards will be presented, one E3-E6 and one E7-O4.

How many nominees can a command submit?

There is no maximum number, however, if multiple submissions are received, we may require the CO to rank the nominees.
Can the nominator also be the Commanding Officer?
No, the nominator must be equal or junior in rank and not the Commanding Officer.
Can the endorsement be sent from the Commanding Officer instead of the ISIC?
Yes, the endorsement of the nomination will be sent from the nominee’s Commanding Officer.
Does the nomination need to be routed through the chain of command and endorsed by the Commanding Officer?
Yes, all nominations must be endorsed by the Commanding Officer.
How long should the nomination be in length?
Preferably not more than one page, however if the nominator feels they need to write more, that is acceptable.
Who signs the nomination write-up?
The nominator who is equal or junior in rank/rate to the nominee is the correct person to sign the write-up. The Commanding Officer cannot sign the nomination form.

There are three winners in each category and one is designated as the Grand Prize Winner.

• Cash prizes will be awarded: Grand Prize - $500, 1st place - $200, 2nd place - $100 and 3rd place - $50.

All photos become the property of the Surface Navy Association for exclusive use until ninety days after the SNA National Symposium. Prize photos will be submitted for possible publication in Surface Warfare Magazine. The winning photographs will be displayed appropriately at the annual SNA Symposium.

In consideration of the awards presented to the winning images, photographers grant exclusive use of their winning images to SNA for use in their various media and possibly Surface Warfare Magazine, starting from selection as winner until 90 days after the National Symposium where the award is presented. Photographers retain ownership and copyright of their submitted images however, grants all rights in perpetuity to SNA to reproduce, display, publish, distribute, create derivative works of submissions while crediting the photographer (where feasible). SNA use of any submitted images not winning awards will be at the discretion of SNA and subject to arrangements with the respective photographers.

Digital images must be at least 2100 pixels wide and 300 DPI. Selected images will be made into posters for display at the National Symposium. Resolution must be high enough to support this size increase.

1. Nominees are selected from articles nominated by Chapter Presidents, Board Members, Superintendent of the Navy Postgraduate School, President of the Naval War College, Editor of the Naval War College Review, & Editor of the United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
2. Articles are reviewed by the SNA Editorial board appointed annually by the chairman of the National Award Committee.
3. The Editorial board then ranks the articles & forwards the same to the National Awards Committee for the final award selections.

A $1,000 check is awarded. This check is jointly sponsored by SNA & USNI ($500 each). Winner will receive a crystal commemorative award. Any Honorable Mention(s) will receive a framed certificate of recognition.

• Units are encouraged to conduct a local competition to select a winning essay.
• Essay will be submitted to SNA by the NJROTC or CGJROTC Unit SNSI or equivalent and is limited to one essay per unit, not to exceed 500 words. Entries must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman or an equivalent font and must include a title. Essays will be judged on content, historical accuracy, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• The essay must be original material and cannot have been previously submitted.  
• SNSI Instructors: When selecting your unit’s submission, please ensure the essay properly addresses the prompt, that the individual selected is a SNA Hall of Fame Inductee and the essay is free from typographical and grammatical errors. Submissions that do not meet these minimum criteria may not be considered by the Awards Committee.
• Essays submitted after the submission deadline of 11:59 p.m. EDT on 15 February 2026, will not be accepted.

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded to winning essays.
• Cadets will be awarded a cash prize ($500, $250 and $125) and the units they represent will receive a cash award ($1,000, $500 and $250).

Award checks are presented at the Unit level during Spring Award ceremonies by SNA Representative if available.

• Essays will be published in our Surface SITREP.

1. SURFOR will control the schedule & participants for the Shiphandling trainers in Norfolk, Virginia, & San Diego, California, respectively & other elements of the shiphandling competitions.
2. At the conclusion of the competitive cycle for the Shiphandling Competitions, Surface Navy Association (SNA) will be notified of the winner & runner-up.

SNA will not take part in the selection of the eventual winner of the competition.

The winner will be presented with the Shiphandler Award that includes an engraved plaque & invited to the National SNA Symposium to participate in the Awards Luncheon & Banquet. The runner-up will receive a certificate of recognition.

Award One: Freshman/Sophomore Cadet

A Certificate of Recognition and a ribbon from Surface Navy Association will be presented by the Unit Commander with the participation of the local SNA Chapter.

Award Two: Junior Cadet

A Certificate of Recognition and a medal from Surface Navy Association will be presented by the Unit Commander with the participation of the local SNA Chapter.

1. SURFOR will control the schedule and participants for the selection. SURFOR will follow selection procedures in accordance with their instruction 1650.3e (UNIT COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS).
2. At the conclusion of the competitive cycle SURFOR will notify the Surface Navy Association (SNA) of the winner. SNA will not participate in the selection process.

SNA will not take part in the selection of the eventual winner of the competition.

• A monetary award will be given to the command’s MWR fund or to the industry individual or group.
• Cash prizes will be: 1st place - $600, 2nd place - $300 and 3rd place - $200.
• Invitation to the SNA annual Symposium to a single representative from the winning video.

Videos will be submitted by 1 October online to National and the Awards Committee will vote based on the above criteria. Videos will be judged based on merit for creativity, artistic quality, and portraying a positive image of surface warfare. Videos will be showcased at the SNA Symposium.