Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth D Rodgers | 170525-N-EB034-0110 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (May 25, 2017) Hospitalman Naomi...... read more read more
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U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS – The smell of hospital and alcohol swabs almost surpasses the daily commotion of sick call, which all falls to the wayside when you are greeted by an energetic and enthusiastic attendant. Hospitalman Naomi Pauline Mungai is that beaming face eager to help you.
Before immigrating to Lowell, Massachusetts in 2011, Mungai grew up in Kenya, Africa and graduated high school from Senior Chief Koinange High School in 2009 when she was 17 years-old. Her father pushed her to join the U.S. Army to follow in her brother’s foot-steps, but she insisted on creating her own path in life; instead enlisting in the U.S. Navy in April 2014, when she was 22 years-old. She joined mostly for educational reasons, but also wanted to get to travel the world.
After her first duty station at Joel T. Boone Clinic in Norfolk, Va., Mungai’s hope of seeing the world was finally realized when she received orders to the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5); checking onboard in October of 2016.
“Being on the Bataan has opened my eyes in terms of seeing what the Navy is all about,” Mungai began. “I like to interact with Sailors in other rates and seeing what they do. Being stationed in a clinic or hospital, you only get to work alongside and interact with other corpsmen or medical staff for the most part, so right now; I am just enjoying my time here and trying to make the most out of my sea tour.”
Her primary job aboard the ship as a hospital corpsman is running sick call. Apart from sick call, she also conducts a plethora of physical screenings, such as; FSA (food service attendant), barber shop, respirator, separation, and reenlistment screenings. She also devotes a portion of her time to her collateral duty as the Basic Life Support (BLS) program administrator.
“I teach basic BLS, also called Heart Saver, for all embarked personnel, as well as Health Care Provider BLS for medical personnel, and for rates that need an annual refresher course,” explained Mungai.
When she’s not helping patients and training Sailors and Marines on proper CPR, you can find her singing. Mungai has a natural love for music and hopes to learn how to play the guitar sometime in the near future. She is also unmistakably drawn to the nursing field.
“I would like to go into nursing after I am done with Navy, or possibly go to a C-school to be a cardio-vascular technician or a respiratory technician. I love the world of medicine; it feels awesome to play a significant part in the well-being of people,” added Mungai.
When asked about their mentee, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Reynaldo Julius B. Eugenio praised her attitude.
“As her mentor, I believe that her knowledge and skills of being a hospital corpsman make her an asset to the medical department,” said Eugenio. “She is very energetic in every task she is assigned, she accepts any challenge with enthusiasm and her motivation is very contagious. She takes the time to educate others and leads by example.”
Mungai reaches out to fellow junior Sailors by adding, “My advice is to make the most of your time; work hard, but live a little too. Time is just one of those things you can’t get back.”
This Sailor’s infectious energy, motivation, and compassion are an example to the entire fleet and help to make Bataan so awesome.
Bataan and its ready group are deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2017 07:25 |
| Story ID: | 234621 |
| Location: | U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, From Kenya with Love, by PO2 Kenneth D Rodgers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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