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NEWPORT, R.I. — Lt. Winston Dang, Petty Officer 1st Class Jared Bobbett, Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Sheremeta and Senior Chief Petty Officer Erik Gemaly, members of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport U.S. Navy military detachment, received awards from Commanding Officer Capt. Chad Hennings during a Jan. 25 ceremony.
Gemaly, of Mystic, Connecticut, a sonar technician, received the Meritorious Service Medal for serving as senior fleet liaison for NUWC Division Newport from December 2017 to December 2020. Spearheading the training of more than 100 sonar technicians in the Virginia-class Thinline Towed Array "O" level training course, Gemaly’s personal passion for excellence fostered a long-standing fleet capability. He led a team of engineers and Sailors to expeditiously correct over 150 backlogged Fleet Technical Feedback reports and overhauled the aging program. He volunteered to be the plank owner senior enlisted advisor and sonar technical expert for the Submarine Force Aggressor Squadron, leading an undermanned team charged with re-invigorating the submarine force’s knowledge of adversary capabilities and tactics.