Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Camilo E Fernan | Fire Controlman 1st Class Juan Sebastian Valdezamarillas poses for a portrait photo at...... read more read more
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Meet FC1 Juan Sebastian Valdezamarillas! He is currently a #RecruitDivisionCommander at the #Navy ‘s only #BootCamp .
“Nobody in my family thought that I would graduate, because of the way I was. Prior to joining the service, I was very much a laid-back, almost hippie type of individual. So, they thought it was almost ridiculous that I was joining the military.”
Valdezamarillas had not prepared for the end of high school, and felt his best chance for a career at the time was joining the Navy.
“I wanted something that I knew would provide stability, because I saw what happened in the 2008 recession, and saw that the government isn’t going to fail to pay its service members. Second, it seemed like it had lots of non-traditional opportunities to excel, to do things civilians would never do, such as firing missiles.”
He had scored well on the ASVAB, and had a number of options to choose for work. He chose fire controlman, and is responsible for gainfully employing the weapon systems of ships at sea. For shore duty, he volunteered to become an RDC.
“My prior duty assignment involved a temporary duty where I was in charge of assistants to the cooks, food service attendants. One of the things I saw was the mentality of, ‘not my job, not my problem.’ Instead of getting frustrated over what I saw as shortcomings with junior Sailors out in the fleet, I decided to come out here to the source, so that I can make a difference here [as an RDC].”
FC1 believes in driving recruits to do well at any challenge.
“I intend to ingrain in the recruits a philosophy of excellence. Excellence in everything they do, motivation, and enthusiasm, and wanting to be the best.”
Valdezamarillas found a lot to like about training recruits.
“How I explain it is essentially we take adults that almost, it’s almost like they transition back into being children when they come to boot camp. You see them grow up, and by the time they parade the drill deck with their heads held high, you see them as the adults they were. Watching your recruits transform from civilian to Sailor is probably one of the most rewarding experiences that you can have in the Navy, one hundred percent.”
He also highly recommends the duty.
“You could do some maintenance, you can participate in vertical replenishments, being at sea; but nothing beats seeing someone become a brother-in-arms, or sister-in-arms.”
Valdezamarillas looks forward to returning to ships, earning qualifications, and advancing in his career.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2022 14:02 |
| Story ID: | 415797 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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