FORT RILEY, Kan. – For going above and beyond what was expected of him while deployed, Spc. Carlos Warfield, a preventive medicine specialist with Charlie Company, 701st Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stood out among his peers to receive the Army Excellence Award for Preventive Medicine in August of this year.
For a period of three months, Warfield was solely responsible for maintaining a healthy environment for Soldiers of the 4th IBCT during the brigade’s recent deployment to the Salah ad-Din province in northern Iraq.
“In the absence of supervision, Warfield took the personal initiative to plan preventive medicine missions, organize modes of transportation throughout theater, and conduct 30 base camp assessments,” wrote 2nd Lt. Robert White, the Dragon brigade’s environmental science officer, in his recommendation of Warfield for the award.
White went on to note Warfield’s selflessness by writing that “(Specialist Warfield) searched for a means to travel to ten isolated bases and placed the health and welfare of Soldiers before his own personal safety … By personally coordinating the preventive medicine missions, identifying potential health threats and mitigating possible animal-borne diseases, Specialist Warfield made a substantial contribution beyond his fundamental responsibilities during deployment.”
In spite of his achievement, Warfield says he feels no pressure and remains humble.
“I didn’t do my job in order to get the award, I just did what needed to be done,” said the California City, Calif., native. “In the event of deploying again, I would go out and do the same job.”
Looking back, Warfield says that he’s grateful for what he’s experienced and suggests to anyone who may want to follow in his footsteps to acquire the ability of planning for a situation before it happens, instead of reacting to it when it does.
“Being proactive is the best way to take care of things because if you’re just reactive, then you’re going to have a lot more work which could lead to a lot more (stress),” said Warfield.
“(People) might not like that you’re pestering them over little (issues), but the little (issues) add up,” added Warfield. “So, being proactive rather than reactive is essential when it comes to preventive medicine.”
As for his future goals, Warfield says that only time will tell. However, he would like to attain his bachelor’s degree and become an officer.