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Sailors of the year named

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 8, 2026

By Allyson Ballard

Photos by Allyson Ballard. First Class Aviation Electronics Technician Alberto Davila, pictured on the right here, won Reserve Sailor of the Year.
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Photos by Allyson Ballard. First Class Aviation Electronics Technician Alberto Davila, pictured on the right here, won Reserve Sailor of the Year.

Photos by Allyson Ballard. First Class Aviation Electronics Technician Alberto Davila, pictured on the right here, won Reserve Sailor of the Year.
Cryptologic Technician First Class Chivaun M. Sosa, pictured on the right here, won Sea Sailor of the Year.
Hospital Corpsman First Class Fabian S. Morales, pictured second from right here, won Shore Sailor of the Year.
Photo by Allyson Ballard A sizable crowd, including current and former Oak Harbor city officials, attended the event, held at the Elks Lodge.
Photo by Allyson Ballard Capt. Nathan Gamamche, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, spoke during the luncheon.
Photo by Allyson Ballard Oak Harbor High School’s NJROTC program presented the colors.

Oak Harbor’s Navy League honored its Sailors of the Year selections at a luncheon on Tuesday.

First Class Aviation Electronics Technician Alberto Davila, Hospital Corpsman First Class Fabian S. Morales and Cryptologic Technician First Class Chivaun M. Sosa won Reserve, Shore and Sea Sailor of the Year, respectively. Seven individuals also received Command Sailor of the Year honors.

Capt. Nathan Gammache, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and Capt. Dave Williams, retired from the Navy, explained that candidates are recommended and selected based on merit. Honorees undergo a selection process which includes interviews and community engagement.

Williams added that sailors’ “job scope, impact, leadership and command involvement” are evaluated.

Thursday’s marked the 50th annual Sailor of the Year recognition luncheon.

“All of us are honored to recognize those members of Team Whidbey who have distinguished themselves in service to their shipmates, their commands and their nation,” Todd Morrow, the Navy League chapter president, said. “This event is one of the ways our community expresses its deep gratitude to those who serve at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.”

Oak Harbor Mayor Ronnie Wright, councilmembers Eric Marshall and Sandi Peterson and former mayors Jim Slowik and Patty Cohen attended the event.

Gammache addressed the crowd, speaking to sailors’ importance as technology becomes increasingly present in operations.

“You will never replace sailors,” he said. “If you’re giving me something that you thinking is going to replace sailors, just stop.”

Davila, a native of Weslaco, Texas, enlisted in the Navy at 28 years old. Stints at NAS Oceana, NAS Fort Worth and NAS Jacksonville preceded his arrival at NAS Whidbey in 2023. “Leadership and technical aptitude” characterize his tenure, according to his biography, which adds that he has experience in leading recruits through boot camps, sponsoring and leading detachments and conducting audits to uphold safety and quality standards in aviation.

Morales, born in Los Angeles, California, enlisted in 2011. Working in medicine for the Navy has taken him all over the world, including stops in Afghanistan, Japan and Italy. Currently, Morales works at Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor, where he oversees “a $9.6 million medical equipment program supporting more than 16,500 beneficiaries,” his biography states.

Sosa hails from Brooklyn, New York, and she enlisted in 2014. Some of her notable achievements include target analysis of terrorist networks leading to arrests and prosecutions,and providing valuable information during two U.S. Navy Cyber compromises. She deployed on the U.S.S. Harry S Truman from Sept. 2024 to June 2025, her biography details.

Per tradition, the Navy League invited the Sailors of the Year to ride in a convertible in the city’s Fourth of July parade.

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