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October is Hispanic heritage month, and because the Navy represents the melting pot of the United States, there are no shortages of Sailors of Hispanic decent. One such Sailor is Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Aimme Yinat Rodriguez, assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) weapons department, who hails from Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Yinat Rodriguez grew up the youngest of three, her siblings 13 and 14 years older than her. This was also indicative of her neighborhood with few children nearby.
She was a self-proclaimed curious child who climbed fences and rooftops and had a love of sports: soccer, basketball, softball, judo, track and field, and weight lifting.
Yinat Rodriguez’s life quickly took a turn with the death of her father and her mother falling ill just a mere two years later.
“When I turned 13, my mom got sick,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “It made me mature at a young age. I stopped living my regular 13-year-old life. Instead of playing after school I took care of my mother; I cooked and I cleaned.”
Despite her illness, Yinat Rodriguez’s mother woke up early every day of the week to run her in-home hair salon business.
“My mom was very hard working,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “She instilled those values in me. She taught me the meaning of working hard to get what you deserve.”
Those values and lessons earned Yinat Rodriguez a Bachelors of Science in Adaptive Physical Education. She got a teaching job after graduating, while still caring for her mother and taking on three additional part-time jobs. After years of teaching, Yinat Rodriguez wanted more.
“My mom is my everything,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “She is like my best friend. I tell her everything. One day I asked my mom what she thought about the military. She said she’ll support me in every decision I make.”
Nearly seven months after that conversation, Yinat Rodriguez joined the Navy. After visiting the continental United States on three short occasions, Yinat made the big move when she went to boot camp in June 2014.
“Transitioning to military life was easy,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “The transition to the states was the hard part.”
Despite having been taught the English language, the many American accents, traditional Naval colloquialism and vernacular proved to be an obstacle for Yinat Rodriguez.
“The language really made me stress,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “I was sad and frustrated because English was not my first language. After I struck AO and knowing my rate requires precision and attention to detail. I put pressure on myself to learn and understand everything quickly.”
The self-appointed pressure translated to hard work that others noticed.
“One day we were moving items to different storerooms on board,” said Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Trent Machado, who has worked alongside Yinat Rodriguez for two years. “I remember moving a box --- about 30-pounds and awkward to carry. [Yinat Rodriguez] surprised me. She picked it up and threw it on her shoulder and started walking off with it. She walked half the distance of the ship and up two decks to where it needed to go. That’s the kind of worker she is – she always knows what needs to be done and she always gets the work done.”
Not only do her junior Sailors recognize her hard work, but she’s also recognized up and down her chain of command. The recognition took shape in the form of her being automatically advanced to petty officer third class and being recognized to receive the first set of orders to USS Gerald R. Ford from Rear Admiral John Meier, the former commanding officer of the then Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford.
“Her work ethic is outstanding,” said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Sam Register, one of Yinat Rodriguez’s mentors. “She will not be outworked. One of the things she has always said was ‘no matter if you can understand me or not, I will not be outworked.’ And she has been good on her word to this day.”
Her word and work both proved to be superior. Her next form of recognition was advancing to petty officer second class and leading junior Sailors.
“When it comes time to get things done, she leans forward and joins the fight to work alongside us,” said Machado. “When she comes around, things get easier because she is a do as I do and not just a do as I say type leader.”
Yinat Rodriguez says she did not do it on her own.
“I’ve been very blessed being in this command and how they supported me since day one and helped guide me to success,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “All the success I’ve had within a short time means a lot to me.”
Her quick rise up the ranks has her chain of command’s attention.
“She is so dedicated,” said Register. “For her it is like the sky is the limit. She has a vision for herself and she won’t stop any short of that. She is proud of her work just as she is proud of her country. She takes so much pride in being a Puerto Rican and representing for her family.”
As far as Hispanic heritage month, you can find Yinat Rodriguez involved in every function such as teaching more than 50 Ford Sailors in the salsa dancing class held earlier this month. She expects to celebrate many more Hispanic heritage months in the Navy. Her long-term plan is to stay in for a 20-year career and become a medical officer.
With the recent hurricanes hitting Puerto Rico, Yinat Rodriguez’s family has been affected and her mother displaced from young Yinat Rodriguez’s quiet childhood house. The destructive weather has made communication with her family extremely difficult. Despite the uncertainty, one of Yinat Rodriguez’s primary focus is to continue to make her family proud.
“I just want my family and my friends to be proud of me,” said Yinat Rodriguez. “I would not be here today without the help of my mom and my brother who took on the role of my father. Every day I just want to be able to thank them. I’m living the life I’ve always wanted to live because of them. All of my success I owe to them and how they raised me back in Puerto Rico.”
| Date Taken: | 10.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.02.2018 15:46 |
| Story ID: | 264414 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Hecha en Puerto Rico, Accomplished in the Navy, by PO2 Elizabeth Thompson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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