James Faleofa, who was awarded the Royal New Zealand Navy’s “Sailor of the Year 2022”, is a Leading Youth Development Specialist of Tongan descent.

He is stationed at the tri-service Youth Development Unit (North) at Whenuapai, where he helps motivate young people and boost their self-confidence; teaching teamwork, resilience and life skills.

Chief of Navy Rear Admiral David Proctor, in announcing the award said, LYDS Faleofa had been recognised for his passion, professionalism and dedication to duty.

LYDS Faleofa was a respected sailor who led with humility and respect, setting an example for students, peers and seniors alike, he said

As well as running programmes such as six-week Limited Service Volunteer courses for unemployed 18-to-24 year olds who are not in study or training, the Youth Development Unit (YDU) supports 29 Services Academies within secondary schools, fostering skills and values to help senior students take positive roles in society.

LYDS Faleofa was part of Kelston Boys’ High School’s in-house services academy and got inspired to join the Navy by Warrant Officer Ngahiwi Walker’s stories of life at sea.

Now he volunteers his personal time to the academy, and has opened his family home to students from his former school for physical training sessions, mentoring and advice.

Initially, it was the idea of playing sports for the Navy, and the opportunity to travel that appealed to LYDS Faleofa.

When he joined up in 2009, he found the academy had given him excellent grounding for service life and fortunately Basic Common Training wasn’t a shock.

In addition, James Fale'ofa said, “I had done induction camps, we do a lot of team evolutions, and we’re taught the leadership framework, at a level for high school".

Training as a chef, LYDS Faleofa discovered a passion for cooking and travelled all over the Pacific on deployments and always put his hand up to go to sea.

“Giving back is something I had always wanted to do. I just didn’t know when I would get to do it. When I saw this I thought, this is me, this is the time. The Navy has given me a lot of tools, and I can put those tools to good use.”

In 2020, LYDS Faleofa extended his efforts through an initiative called ‘Fahi On’, opening his own home after work to former and current Kelston Boys’ High School students striving to be the best they can be.

James Faleofa said, “my wife and I made this little gym. When I’m at the service academy, I talk to boys who have a lot of potential but are getting distracted by silly things. They come to our home, about eight-to-10 boys daily, for PT sessions.”

He added that these are boys who might be mucking around, who have cousins who do drugs, who are a bit lost and don’t know what to do. Sometimes a boy would message us, asking for help, and saying they want to join the services before something goes wrong.

“For a lot of them, it’s about building resilience. My wife does a lot as well, telling them what it is like to be a partner with someone who is in the Navy.”

Now three former Kelston Boys’ High School students are currently in Navy Basic Common Training, due to graduate in December.