Petty Officer John Taylor is deemed a good sailor and a “well-rounded individual.”

BRUNSWICK – A Durham man has been named Reserve Sailor of the Year for the second year running.

Petty Officer John Taylor was selected as the Naval Air Reserve Brunswick Reserve Sailor of the Year for 2002. He received the same honor for 2001.

He is believed to be the first to win for two consecutive years, said Command Chief John Clark, who described Taylor’s contributions as “above and beyond” the required amount.

“Both technically and administratively, he is very strong, so I wasn’t surprised when he got selected,” added Clark, a 16-year Navy veteran.

He said he knew Taylor was good enough to be selected even though he had some good competition.

“He is a well-rounded individual and a good sailor,” Clark said.

“When he does his annual training period we have gotten nothing but accolades from the (active duty) gaining command. He is an impact player.”

Humble Mainer

Taylor expressed surprise.

“I don’t know why I was put in for it twice, all I did was what was required and a little more,” he said. “I’m not very good at tooting my own horn. I don’t know if I am any more deserving of it than the next guy.”

Taylor was activated for Noble Eagle/Enduring Freedom at the Brunswick Naval Air Station and Mobile Operation Control Center Alpha in Souda Bay, Crete.

The Maine native began his quest for an education five months after graduating from high school. In October 1974, Taylor enlisted in the active duty Navy and began a career that would span three decades.

After passing boot camp and electronic technician “A” school, both at Great Lakes, Ill., he breezed through basic submarine school and advanced ET school, both in New London, Conn.

In 1976, he reported to his first boat, the USS Sunfish, in Charleston, S.C. After completing a Mediterranean cruise, various operations and earning his Subsurface Warfare pin, Taylor became a senior scuba diver and sub-safe coordinator for his boat after attending Navy Scuba Diver School in San Diego.

On his own time, Taylor earned a broadcast engineering diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Electronics and his FCC General Radiotelephone Operators License. He decided to put his family first and join the Navy Reserves.

‘Be flexible’

In 1981, Taylor was assigned to his first reserve duty station with Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity Unit in Augusta. During his two years there, he was a career counselor and a retention officer, but had the urge to attend more schooling and opted to get out of the reserves.

Four years later he earned an associate’s degree from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, N.J, and graduated from Diver’s Academy of the Eastern Seaboard in Camden, N.J.

In 1999, Taylor was allowed to re-enter the Naval Reserves as an E-6 at Naval Reserve Center, but rated as information systems technician first class because of his computer and electronics background.

“I planned on coming back in the Navy sooner, but time just seemed to slip by,” said Taylor, who has been married for 26 years and has three boys ages 14 to 24. “Now I wished I’d come back sooner.”

But the time away didn’t stop him from earning two Sailors of the Quarters in 2001 from TSC 793 and from Naval Air Reserve, Brunswick. It also helped him pinpoint for others how to achieve those results.

“Don’t have a chip on your shoulder,” Taylor said. “Be flexible, look at the more positive things, don’t focus on the negative and always be willing to volunteer.”



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