Photo By Sgt. William Perkins | Chief Petty Officer Joseph Gagucas, the senior squadron corpsman for the Marine Medium...... read more read more
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UNDISCLOSED LOCATION - Re-enlisting can be a pivotal, challenging decision in a service member’s career. For U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Gagucas, the senior squadron corpsman for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, there was no question in his mind whether to continue his career as a U.S. Navy Corpsman.
After 12 years of service, Gagucas strode across the tarmac of the flight line to reenlist aboard an MV-22B Osprey in the Central Command area of operation, Jan. 6, 2015.
“My motivation to reenlist is the Marines, sailors and other service members out there. I was put on this earth for a cause and being a corpsman is best fitting for me to help my fellow brethren,” said Gagucas, a Rowland Heights, Calif., native.
Gagucas’s knack for leadership earned the respect of Marines and sailors around him.
“As a leader he doesn’t give you the tools to do something and sit back,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Derrick Page, a casualty evacuation corpsman for VMM-363. “Gagucas goes out and does it with you. He’s always the first person into work and the last to leave.”
Gagucas’s fellow corpsmen are excited to continue to work alongside him.
“Corpsmen are essential to any Marine Corps unit, so it’s an honor to be able to reenlist him on the back of one of our own aircraft,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Allen Chang, a flight surgeon for VMM-363, from San Ramon, Calif.
Page also said, with so many strong leaders getting out, it’s exciting to hear that Gagucas is staying in the Navy to do what he does best; be a corpsman.
Gagucas has been deployed on several occasions which allowed him to grow. In 2004, he found himself in Fallujah, an experience that helped bolster his success in the medical field.
“[Gagucas] has a lot of extensive experience to bring to the table from his time with ground units, which is different from a lot of the younger guys,” said Chang. “He has tons of medical knowledge from working with [ground-side] Marines and now experience working with the aviation side, making him pretty unique.”
In his nine years working alongside Marine units, VMM-363 is the first aviation unit he has been assigned to.
“It’s fitting being in a deployed environment to reenlist with my squadron, I’ve never had the opportunity to reenlist with [an aviation unit],” said Gagucas.
Not only is Gagucas an exemplary corpsman, he’s respected by his peers as a sailor.
“[There’s] one word he can be described as: reliable. He’s the kind of guy you can depend on to get something done without seeing any kind of hiccups,” said Chang. “He takes initiative and solves problems making him a pleasure to work with.”
“He’s a hard-charger and always gets stuff done,” said Page. “He also holds you accountable for what you have to do and, as a leader, that’s awesome.”
Gagucas is proof that Corpsmen are an asset to the Marines, whether it’s on the ground or in the air.
| Date Taken: | 01.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2015 01:13 |
| Story ID: | 151941 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Hometown: | ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA, US |
| Hometown: | SAN RAMON, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 215 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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