Great Lakes, IL—On April 29, 2022, Joseph Tanjuatco graduated from Recruit Training Command, the Navy's only bootcamp, in the top 1% of his class of more than 600+ recruits.  He was one of only six award winners at The Recruit Graduation Review, earning the Military Order of the World Wars Award of Merit.

His letter of commendation for the award reads, in part:  This award is presented to the graduating recruit whose meritorious performance in recruit training demonstrates exceptional professionalism, maturity, integrity, and leadership.  While at Recruit Training Command, you demonstrated exceptional tenacity, insight, motivation, and leadership beyond those expected of a recruit trainee.  Your performance was marked by pride and patriotism, and indicated impressive potential for future leadership in the United States Navy.

As a newly minted Sailor, Tanjuatco will now enter the Training Support Center, where he will become a Naval Special Warfare (NSW) candidate.  At NSW Prep, which is also located in Great Lakes, IL, Tanjuatco will undergo another intensive two-month training cycle before being sent to Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal (BUD/S) training in Coronado, CA.

Tanjuatco graduated from MMI in May of 2021 with his Associate's degree and competed on the tennis team for two years, achieving All-American status in 2020 in doubles and receiving the ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award in 2021.