Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Parker | 221021-N-HG389-0154 SINGAPORE (Oct. 21, 2022) Chief Hospital Corpsman Iandave Estrada,...... read more read more
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“I felt honored and proud; it was one of the greatest days of my life. It was an honor to wear the rank of Chief Petty Officer,” said Iandave Estrada.
Iandave Estrada was newly promoted to the prestigious rank of U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer in Singapore, October 10th, 2022. The 20-year active-duty Sailor said donning gold-filed anchors on his collar was the defining moment of his career and the “happiest day of his life.”
“I am eternally grateful to everyone who played a part in my naval career. I could not
have done it [promotion] without all the sacrifices and support of my family, my leaders, mentors, and peers,” he said. “I feel like I made everyone that has been a part of my Navy career [for the past two decades] extremely proud and happy for me, I am thankful to every one of them”.
The new chief hospital corpsman was selected for promotion while serving in the city-state of Singapore at Commander, Logistics Western Pacific. In his role he serves as Preventive Medicine Technician- entrusted to manage food, water and force health protection standards for all Singapore tenant commands and forward-deployed assets. His duties in the private sector are comparable to a public health specialist, responsible for assessing food and water quality by inspection, screenings and education.
According to the Master Chief Petty of the Navy (MCPON), Russel Smith, selection boards recommend the best and fully qualified enlisted Sailors to chief petty officers each year. In a statement to the Navy’s chief’s mess, affectionately known as the goat locker, MCPON said, “in only a few short weeks, we provide meaningful training and appropriate events to prepare them [new selectees] to serve within our CPO (chief petty officer) mess.”
Estrada, who enlisted in the Navy shortly after September 11th, said the six-week training was akin to his 90 days of boot camp -- two decades ago. His initiation included lessons entitled Get Real, Get Better, Warrior Toughness, and learning the legendary CPO creed.
“I learned more about myself during the [initiation] process that I will remember after I retire from the Navy. I thank all the Chiefs in Singapore that led, drilled, and mentored us during the initiation process. It took a lot of time, effort, and sacrifice from their own time to continuously guide and train us, and they are the best”.
Estrada is also grateful for the chiefs who came before him, namely those in his bloodline.
“I was inspired to become a chief because of my cousins, who are also Navy chief petty officers,” he said. “I was impressed how they improved themselves professionally as Sailors and leaders yet, more importantly, just as a person.”
As a hospital corpsman Estrada has worked in hospitals and clinics from San Diego to multiple cities in Japan. However, it is his current duty station in Singapore, where for the first time in his career, he’s only three and a half hours from family in the Philippines -- where he says he will eventually retire.
“I’m going to stay in the Navy until my high-year tenure, then apply for a government employee job, then retire for good in the Philippines,” Estrada explained.
Precisely, where Estrada may settle down in the Philippines is a mystery as he respectively claims the Philippines' cities of Tacloban City in the Leyte province, and Bacoor in the Cavite province as his hometowns, along with Reno, Nev. and Fullerton, Calif.
For the next generation of Filipino youths considering the military, “Consider joining if you like to improve yourself as a person and travel the world,” said Estrada. “The Navy has a lot of benefits and things to offer that can help someone and their families have a better future. I am thankful to the Navy and what it has given my family and me,” he said.
Estrada is assigned to Commander, Logistics Western Pacific (COMLOG WESTPAC), in the northern Singapore region. The organization is the U.S. Navy’s premiere maritime mobile logistics command -- charged with resupplying deployed U.S. surface units and aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific region. For more information on Sailors like Estrada, visit: https://www.clwp.navy.mil/
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2022 22:35 |
| Story ID: | 433493 |
| Location: | SG |
| Web Views: | 472 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Philippines’ Native Son Promoted to U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer in Singapore, by LCDR Derrick Ingle, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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