Courtesy Photo | Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Roache bio photo. (Courtesy photo by Hospital Corpsman...... read more read more
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MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Every Sailor is a recruiter even if they don’t know it. For any sea story that a Sailor shares with people outside the Navy, is an opportunity to influence their opinion.
The goal of Navy Recruiting Command’s Every Sailor a Recruiter program is to incentivize Sailors, whom are not on recruiting duty, to refer candidates to the Navy for recruitment. If the person referred joins the Navy, the referring Sailor earns a Flag Letter of Commendation (FLOC), which also counts a point toward advancement. Every Sailor is an ambassador for the Navy and their stories and experiences hold weight and influence within their social circles. This influence could be the reason someone chooses military service.
Prior to enlisting, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Colin Roache had his family encourage and reinforce his decision to join the Navy the same way he is currently doing for others.
Roache knew he wanted the education benefits the Navy offers, but it was the experiences of his retired aunt and uncle, as well as his active-duty sister who gave him the final push.
“I decided to join the Navy mainly because of the education benefits of the GI bill,” said Roache. “I was fresh out of high school and could not afford to pay for college. My Navy-retired aunt and uncle and active-duty older sister all served as a positive reinforcement to support my decision to join the Navy. After seeing how successful their lives and careers have become … I was convinced that joining the Navy was the best option for me.”
Through accelerated programs in the Navy, as well as hard work and perseverance, Roache was meritoriously advanced to petty officer 3rd class within his first year of being a U.S. Navy Sailor. He also took advantage of the VA home loan program and purchased his first home at 21 years of age.
If that wasn’t enough, Roache also turned his experiences at boot camp, “A” school and “C” school into college credits and received his Associates Degree in Health Science/Health Administration from American Military University within two years of being in the Navy.
Roache’s successes in his short time in the Navy has reinforced the notion that joining the Navy was absolutely the right choice. He feels so adamantly about it, that he even encourages others to do so by simply sharing his story.
“I helped two good friends from high school join the Navy,” said Roache. “Neither thought that the Navy lifestyle was for them. However, after seeing how the Navy positively impacted my life, they both decided that it would make a positive impact on their lives also. A piece of advice I gave to them was to take advantage of the education benefits such as the navy tuition assistance program when eligible and attend college as soon as possible. A college education is still good to have and having a degree will go towards points on their advancement.”
In addition to helping out friends join the Navy and improve their situations, he is also helping progress his career.
“After referring my two close friends to join the world's greatest Navy, I was awarded a Flag Letter of Commendation from Rear Admiral Walker,” said Roache. “The Floc letter of commendation is worth one point on my advancement exam for petty officer second class.”
Sailors like Roache are both helping themselves and the Navy by sharing genuine and real experiences to their friends and family and then bringing in quality and hungry future Sailors.
“I commend Petty Officer Roache for both his outstanding service and for helping bring in future Sailors to our Navy,” said Rear Adm. Alexis “Lex” Walker, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command. “Through the Every Sailor a Recruiter program, we are empowering Sailors like Roache to help bring us closer to meeting our recruiting goal, which provides critical manpower to the fleet.”
Before FLOCs were awarded for helping bring in new Sailors, Roache was already sharing his experiences with his local community.
“Prior to this program being created, I aided others in their process to join the Navy,” said Roache. “I assisted with Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) preparations at Blue Cypress Park Community center in Jacksonville, Florida. At this community center, I aided adults, teenagers, and children to prepare for the ASVAB test and GED preparation. I genuinely like helping people and I'm constantly telling people about the Navy and the process they would go through to join. In such a short period of time, the Navy changed my life! I would love for others to have a similar experience. So, for Sailors like myself, Every Sailor a Recruiter program is used to show appreciation to us for being ambassadors for the Navy in our spare time.”
For more information on the program, visit NAVADMIN 290/22 or text FLOC to 764764.
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, two Navy Recruiting Regions and 26 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 815 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2023 15:12 |
| Story ID: | 444780 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 1,218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Every Sailor a Recruiter: Turning Experiences into Opportunities, by PO1 Jose Madrigal, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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