Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jennifer Benedict | With a little touch of familial support…Lt. j.g. Paulo C. Guillen is commissioned as...... read more read more
Rare is the time when the normal staid and focused ambiance of the laboratory in Navy Medicine Readiness Training Unit Bangor becomes full of boisterous gaiety.
Yet last year there was a sudden burst of unleashed enthusiasm when the Navy Medical Service Corps officially increased their ranks as Navy Medicine’s most diverse corps.
Gone was Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Paulo C. Guillen, leading petty officer of NMRTU Bangor Ancillary Services. In his stead was Navy MSC officer Paulo C. Guillen.
Guillen was officially commissioned as a lieutenant junior grade, June 3, 2024, after being selected for the MSC In-Service Procurement Program.
“The lab staff heard me scream and laugh! After that, I called my family to share the news,” shared Guillen after being told he was chosen. “What’s gratifying is being able to show my fellow Sailors what hard work and discipline can accomplish.”
The MSC In-Service Procurement Program provides a pathway to an officer commission for career motivated active duty enlisted personnel like Guillen, in pay grades E-5 through E-9, who meet the eligibility criteria defined.
Guillen’s commission specialty focus will be in healthcare administration, part of the wide range of undergraduate and graduate training opportunities offered in a variety of MSC specialties leading to a MSC commission. Opportunities are also available in such specialties as physician assistant, environmental health, entomology, radiation health, industrial hygiene, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and social work.
For Guillen, originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, the MSC specialty training leading to a commission is part of his U.S. Navy career path forged well before he enlisted in Norwalk, California after immigrating to the U.S. in 2006.
“I decided to join the Navy because I wanted to give back to the country that welcomed me with open arms,” said Guillen, who attended Colombia Naval Officer Academy from 1999 to 2002 for his Bachelor of Sciences in Naval Sciences before graduate school at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2020 for a Master of Business Administration with concentration in healthcare administration.
That gravitational pull of helping to care for those in need has led Guillen to be part of Navy Medicine since 2011. His initial assignment as a hospital corpsman with nuclear medicine technologist specialty training was at Naval Health Center Portsmouth, followed by duty at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune before transferring to Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton November 2022.
“Health is the one thing that you cannot put a price on. Healthy Sailors translate to mission success. I want to be able to help from my position as much as possible,” remarked Guillen.
“The MSC community is the backbone of Navy Medicine and always working to make sure we have the tools to succeed,” Guillen continued. “I want to be able to positively influence as many Sailors as possible and to keep them healthy in a physical and mental way.”
Guillen admitted the application process proved to be a challenge. “It takes a lot of preparation, time management, and patience,” he said, adding that one valuable lesson he learned along the administrative way was the power of deliberately seeking out advice.
“Ask many questions,” flatly stated Guillen. “Don’t be afraid to say I don’t know and look for guidance. For others following, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. You need to grow to succeed. You won’t be able to do that if you become stagnant.”
Guillen adheres to the concept of service before self, not only insisting the best part of his career is when he’s able to help his fellow Sailors advance as well as stay focused on keeping warfighters and their family members ready, healthy and on the job.
“Sometimes we get too focused on what is happening right at the moment and forget to look at the bigger picture,” said Guillen. “Being here means that we are providing the opportunity to thousands of Sailors to do their job, and that is a great feeling.”
Although his actual date for his commissioning as an MSC officer is still pending, Guillen is well on his way to becoming part of one of the three the basic communities which make up MSC: Health Care Administration field which Guillen will join consists of such disciplines as education and training management, financial management, Fleet Marine Force, general health care administration, health care facilities planning, information management, manpower systems analysis, medical logistics management, operations research, patient administration, and plans, operations and medical intelligence.
The Clinical Care specialties of MSC include audiology, clinical psychology, dietetics/food management, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, podiatry, and social work.
MSC Health Care Science field encompasses aerospace experimental psychology, aerospace physiology, biochemistry, entomology, environmental health, industrial hygiene, medical technology, microbiology, physiology, radiation health, and research psychology.
As a U.S. Navy commissioned officer, his permanent appointment requires him to serve at least ten years to be eligible to retire as an officer.
Which he has every intention of doing.
When asked to sum up his experience with Navy Medicine, Guillen replied, “It’s been a crazy ride and I cannot wait to see what’s next!”
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2024 10:18 |
| Story ID: | 473098 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 201 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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