Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Stephanie Y. Ramirez is among the myriad service members who transition from active duty to the reserve component. Less than five years into her Navy Reserve career, she was named the 2024 Navy Reserve Sailor of the Year.
But she was quick to credit to others for the accolade.
“For me, … it just means that the people who poured into me — it’s a testament to what they did,” Ramirez said. “My chief, all of my chiefs, even the active-duty ones, my chief in the reserves, my mentors, my cousin who’s a CWO in the Navy. It’s a testament to their service and their job and their mentorship and guidance because without them I wouldn’t have gotten to the level that I got to.”
Ramirez also cited her sailors for her success. In one case, a sailor told her she inspired him and stood up for them when they needed help.
“That is the feedback that motivates me and keeps me going because there were challenging times,” she said, “and you have to learn how to stand up for your people and your sailors when they need it because they’re looking to you as that bridge between people who can make changes … They challenged me to become a better leader.”
Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve, said in a news release that sailors like Ramirez — who maintain civilian careers and family commitments alongside military readiness — are part of the reason the reserve force is “the strategic advantage of the world’s most powerful Navy.”
The Reserve Sailor of the Year program is the “highest individual honor” for Navy reservists that’s non-combat related, according to the release.
Community impact was among the reasons cited for Ramirez receiving the honor, along with consistent “superior performance” and embodying Navy values.
“I think it’s just showing that a reservist can activate, can go out there, do the job, get completely qualified, become the watch float supervisor,” Ramirez said. “Get all my warfare designations, and then come back home. And no one would have known that I was a reservist, almost as if it was a seamless integration.”
Ramirez joined the reserves in February 2021, right out of active duty. Transitioning gave her the opportunity to “be a present parent” for her daughter.
“I wasn’t quite ready to leave her,” Ramirez said. “She was very young by the time I had to pick orders. I felt at the time it would’ve been easier to just go reserves, [and] I had that avenue open.”
When choosing her rate, Ramirez said she scored high enough to go into air traffic control.
“It’s a very mentally stressful job,” Ramirez said. “Once you’re on position, on there for an hour talking nonstop to the aircraft … [and you can] sit back down and say, ‘Wow, I did that.’”
She also finds joy in training junior sailors and watching them grow.
When asked about her advice for those looking to enlist, whether active duty or the reserves, Ramirez said their career is what they make it. She encourages young sailors to challenge themselves.
“Any place you go to, whether the military or a business organization, you have people who are go getters, they’re the go-to person and then you have people who are the complete opposite,” she said. “When you still have them fresh and brand new, that’s best time to leave an impression on them.”
