Airman Maguire Weiland Earns Military Excellence Award
by U.S. Navy Marc Lindsay
Recruit Training Command
October 5, 2026

Airman Maguire Weiland (18) graduated as the top Sailor from Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes, earning the Military Excellence Award (MEA) September 24, 2026.

Weiland said his first reaction to the news had nothing to do with himself ... "When I found out I'd won, I was excited and in disbelief, and my very first thought was that I couldn't wait to tell my mom," Weiland said. "Early in boot camp, when I heard about the top three percent, I never pictured myself being one of them. To me, the MEA means giving maximum effort no matter how minor the task is."

The Military Excellence Award is presented to the recruit who best demonstrates enthusiasm, devotion to duty, military bearing and teamwork throughout training. As part of the recognition, recipients receive a flag letter of commendation.

Weiland arrived at RTC already shaped by the Navy, long before he raised his right hand. From age 10 to 18, he was part of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a youth program that gave him his first taste of leadership and, eventually, real responsibility.

"When I first joined, I was afraid of making mistakes and afraid of leading," Weiland said. "Over the years I earned rank and gained valuable experience, and eventually made chief petty officer in charge of my home division. The Sea Cadets taught me to lead from the front, own my mistakes and understand that being uncomfortable is how you grow. I credit that program and all my mentors for where I am today."

Those years pointed him toward service, though the branch was briefly an open question. A friend had gone to Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego, and Weiland felt the pull to follow.

"I wanted to be a warrior for the greatest fighting force," he said. "I was leaning toward the Marine Corps to join my friend, but my parents felt the Navy would give me a better career. I started talking to a Navy recruiter and was at MEPS a few days later."

The hardest stretch of training came early, before the routine set in. For Weiland, the challenge wasn't any single evolution. It was the not knowing.

"The biggest challenge was the first few days, the P-days,” Weiland said. "It was the unknown, the unfamiliarity, being nervous about the evolutions and challenges ahead. What got me through was something Admiral William McRaven has said, about how sometimes you have to face your challenges head-first. I had to get the fear of the unknown out of my head and get comfortable being uncomfortable."

If there was a defining moment in Weiland's boot camp, it came when the recognition he'd earned was nearly lost to a clerical error, and his RDCs refused to let it stand.

"When it was time for the top three percent interviews, I was told I hadn't made it," Weiland said. "But my chief noticed it was a mistake and fought to get me back where I was supposed to be. My RDCs believed in me from the very beginning. They put me in leadership positions to help me grow, held me accountable when I made mistakes and never stopped believing I could do well. They were my motivation to keep going."

His RDCs were Chief Petty Officer Ceejay Taylor, Petty Officer 1st Class Zenaida Guerrero and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jarrett Lilly.

Following graduation, Weiland will report to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, to begin training in the Naval Aircrewman pipeline.

Training at RTC is approximately nine weeks long, and all enlistees in the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp.

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