Washington, DC - The Chief of Naval Personnel recognized the 2017 active duty and Selected Reserve Human Resources (HR) community junior officers of the year, Friday.

Lt. Cmdr. Scott Bennie is the active duty recipient and Lt. Cmdr. Carl Pearson is the Selected Reserve recipient for the 2017 award.

The award, established in 2010, recognizes a Human Resources community junior officer each year for their significant contributions to the Navy. In 2016, the opportunity for selecting Selected Reserve was made an option for the awards selection board. 2017 is the first year for both categories being awarded.

Bennie, Deputy Director of Officer Accessions and Transformation Officer, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) managed all officer accession programs, both active and Reserve, that led to the most successful officer accession recruiting within the last 10 years. Bennie created an Information Technology system to track transformation efforts that helped save CNRC $1 million in IT infrastructure and startup costs, which also provided production, efficiency and attrition analytics to the Chief of Naval Personnel. His efforts are synched to the Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education lines of effort of manning the Fleet, transformation, and Sailor 2025.

Pearson, Manpower and Personnel Strength Management Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) led manpower and staffing initiatives for new and existing mission requirements helping CJTF-HOA's timely response in Somalia. Pearson helped source more than 400 Joint headquarters requirements maintaining a 95 percent fill rate and served as the OIC for the joint reception center, working with the Special Purpose Marine-Air-Ground Task Force. As the Deputy for Personnel Directorate, Pearson led efforts with U.S. Army Africa to de-conflict and expedite leave, and Rest and Recuperation programs.

Rear Adm. Ann Burkhardt, Director, Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, is the Navy's senior HR Officer said this is a significant accomplishment for Bennie and Pearson.

"Bennie and Pearson have demonstrated all the qualities of an outstanding HR officer," said Burkhardt. "Their critical thinking and initiative have resulted in unrivaled contributions that will shape Navy and Joint Human Resources processes for years to come."

The HR community was created in 2001 to recruit, process, and assess Sailors into the Navy. HR officers serve in key positions throughout the Navy and help to improve personnel management and training systems to more effectively recruit, develop, manage, reward, and retain the force of tomorrow.