DECEMBER 26, 2024 – Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Great Lakes Sailors are getting in the holiday spirit and spreading cheer. From gift exchanges to decorating, Sailors are hoping the season of giving will forge their Navy bonds even stronger.
Navy Recruiting Station (NRS) Pulaski hosted a white elephant gift exchange for their future Sailors in conjunction with their monthly Delayed Entry Pool (DEP) meeting.
Hull Technician 1st Class Will Ding, a recruiter at NRS Pulaski, says events like these connect their future Sailors and they become like family.
“It’s really important for the future Sailors to feel like they’re part of a family,” Ding says. “It grows them into wonderful Sailors.”
Recruiters at NRS Madison also believe connecting future Sailors now prepares them to better work together once out in the Fleet.
“It’s important to have team building and bonding because these are the people we will be serving side by side with,” Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Scott McIlquham said.
Future Sailors decorated the NRS Madison office and then participated in a secret Santa. One of the future Sailors even brought in part of a cutdown tree.
Later during the month, all of Division 6 Sailors gathered around the tree for a holiday gift exchange, baby shower, and potluck of their own.
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Cyiah Wright says this is their second year of hosting a divisional holiday event.
“Something we started last year was just a gift exchange and potluck during training,” Wright said. “Typically people ask each other what they want and they end up learning something about that person. Plus, it gets all of us together during the holiday season!”
Wright says events like these have brought their division closer and made them a better functioning team. She encourages other Sailors to do the same, saying it creates a fun environment and gives people something to look forward to.
“We work extremely well as a team and doing events such as a gift exchange during the holiday season just reiterates how close we are,” Wright says. “I’m lucky to be in a division where everybody gets along and we all genuinely care about each other.”
Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Great Lakes covers Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana, Eastern Wisconsin and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Headquartered in North Chicago, NTAG Great Lakes has 30 recruiting stations and employs more than 150 military and non-military personnel.
Story by Anna Jefferson
Navy Talent Acquisition Group Great Lakes