Navy's Top Recruiter Calls St. Charles County Home

The top recruiter in the United States Navy calls St. Charles County home.

Last December Niesha Tartt, 29, knew she was in the running for United States Navy’s top honor for recruiting specialists. Just being nominated, however, wasn’t a guarantee that she would win. Chief Select Tartt had already been recognized in St. Louis, but wasn’t sure she would cut it on the national level. She did.

“It was really surreal,” she said about the award. “I know that sounds cliché, but it was very surreal. It is a very prestigious honor, so to have actually been nominated for it and then to receive it, is something that’s unimaginable. I never would have imagined I would have achieved that type of award in my lifetime.”

Chief Select Tartt currently serves in St. Peters working at the on Mid Rivers Mall Drive. The 11-year Navy veteran has spent the last four years in the St. Louis and St. Charles County area searching the top recruits to join the Navy. So far, she has done just that, winning the 2010 Enlisted Recruiter of the Year (Reserve) Award from the Navy.

The award honors the recruiter who brings the best and brightest Sailors into the fold. It’s not just about gathering up numbers, it’s about getting quality.

“You have to recruit the finest people for the Navy, No. 1,” she said.

As far accolades go for her job, Tartt has reached the top.

“It is the biggest honor,” she said.

Born in Georgia, Tartt has seen the world since joining the Navy. She estimates she has been to 15 or 16 different countries. Somehow, she ended up in St. Charles County.

“I end up where the Navy puts me,” she said. “Wherever the Navy says that’s where we need you, then that’s where I go.”

 Her experience in St. Charles County has been a good one.

“It’s been awesome,” she said. “This is a very military-friendly area, which is always great for us. The community is always asking us to participate in things like Veterans Day and Memorial Day. We are more than happy to give back to our community. “

Tartt lives in St. Charles County with her husband and three kids—ages 9, 6 and 2-and-a-half. Balancing the demanding full-time job of a Navy recruiter with the full-time job of being a parent can be tough. Tartt takes it in stride.

“You didn’t see my cape? I’m Superwoman,” she said.  “No, I’m just joking. It is—I have to be very organized. My children are awesome. My husband is beyond supportive. He is also prior Navy, so that helps when you have someone who understands the business that you are in. I just push it to the max everyday. I’m just dedicated.”

After taking home the top honor for her position, Tartt said she wouldn’t be spending time trying to take home the award again—a feat she said that was very rare. Instead, she said she just wants to keep helping out her recruits.

“I just want to make sure I am an effective leader and take care of my people,” she said. “It’s not about me at all. It’s about making sure my junior Sailors get promoted, it’s making sure that they are attending college, it’s making sure that I’m putting them in a position to be just as successful as I have been.”

With 11 years of service, Tartt’s career with the Navy is far from over. At the end of the day, she hopes her legacy is not awards, but rather the people she helped get into the Navy.

“When it’s all said and done, I hope that I will have been the best leader of my sailors that I could have been,” she said. “It makes me very proud to see people that work for me achieve such greatness.  I’m there for my Sailors.”