 Admiral Sam Locklear passed the title of Old Salt to Vice Admiral Kurt Tidd during a ceremony held in the Pentagon June 22. The Old Salt Award is a recognition of the most senior surface warfare officer in serving on active duty in the United States Navy. Being a surface warfare officer is what I've always wanted to do from the time I came in the Navy. Surface warfare gets in your blood, and once it's in your blood, it's hard to give it up. Locklear graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1977. He earned his surface warfare qualification in 1979, and received the Old Salt Award in 2014. It's a tremendous honor to have been on active duty as a surface warfare officer for all these years. Enjoy being a SWO, and maybe one of you out there will be the Old Salt someday.