Photo By Chief Petty Officer Carla Burdt | 191125-N-MK341-1082 Moreno Valley, California (Nov. 25, 2019) - Navy Counselor 1st...... read more read more
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By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Carla Burdt, NRD San Diego Public Affairs Officer
November 26, 2019
When facing difficult times, people often do one of two things – give up or give it all. For Navy Counselor 1st Class Truman Bush, giving up was never an option. She learned from her struggles and used personal difficulties to become a stronger, more impactful leader.
Her leadership and hard work have not gone unnoticed. Bush was recently selected as Navy Recruiting District San Diego's 2019 Sailor of the Year.
Bush, who is the Leading Petty Officer (LPO) of Navy Recruiting Station Moreno Valley in California, joined the Navy 10 years ago from Olathe, Kansas.
Bush's father passed away while she was in high school, and this had a significant impact on her personal and educational goals.
"I felt like I wasn't challenging myself enough, and I was getting into the wrong crowds," said Bush. "I felt like I was losing myself."
She talked to her uncle, who is a retired Navy captain, about her plans after high school.
"I talked to him about what I was going to do because I wasn't living up to my potential," said Bush. "I knew that if I went to college that I wasn't going to challenge myself as I should have. I needed discipline and structure."
With the support of her mother and stepfather, Bush went to talk to the Navy recruiter in her hometown.
"I signed up the next week, and I was in the Delayed Entry Program throughout my senior year of high school," said Bush.
She joined the Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT) and reported to her first command - Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 113 (VAW-113) in Point Mugu, California. She advanced to petty officer second class before transferring to recruiting duty in her hometown.
"My first year of recruiting duty, I was running a station," said Bush. "I liked recruiting, so I put in my package to convert to NC and was selected."
Toward the end of her tour at Navy Recruiting District St. Louis, Bush said she was facing personal difficulties and made decisions that she now regrets.
"I lost myself, and I didn't find who I wanted to be as a Sailor and as a leader," said Bush. "I vowed that when I left there and got here that I would turn that around."
When she reported to NRD San Diego in March 2018, Bush found that the difficulties that she had hoped to put behind her continued.
"I started off here with a lot of personal stuff," said Bush. "I wasn't sure how I would be able to overcome these things, but I told myself that I would do what I needed to do to find myself and to be the very best version of myself, and I feel like I have done that."
She added, "I told myself that I am not going to go back into that hole that I came from and that I am going to overcome this stuff. I refused to handle it the way that I did before, so I started using the resources that the Navy provides."
Bush said the struggles she has endured over the past two years helped her grow as a person and as a leader.
"I went through really hard times that I let get to me, but I am now on top of it and have found myself as both the leader and Sailor that I want to be," said Bush. "I had to fully commit to being the best recruiter I can be while also working on myself."
Bush added, "I hadn't fully found myself as a leader until I got here. When people are facing difficult times, they act a certain way and may not necessarily talk about it. This has made me more understanding of situations. I learned not to judge someone based on their mistakes. One action doesn't make a person good or bad, so if they can overcome mistakes and turn it into a positive, they deserve a second chance."
Bush said that she wouldn't have been successful without the support of her chain of command.
"A lot of people have helped me get here," said Bush. "Having the support of my division chiefs has been instrumental in my success. They gave me the time to take care of myself when I needed it."
Bush also credits her success to NRD San Diego’s Command Master Chief Michael Noullet.
"I have great leaders at this command, and it feels great to be supported," said Bush. "Most of all, the CMC has been incredible. I cannot say enough good things about him. He knows about all my struggles and everything I have gone through, and he has had my back the whole time. It is great to have him in my corner."
Bush is the epitome of leadership and resolve, said Noullet. Despite her personal struggles, she has remained committed to helping Sailors within the command succeed.
“Her accomplishments are a testament to the type of Sailor and leader she is,” said Noullet. “Everything she has done and overcome, and her ability to still be successful shows how well-rounded she is. She runs a station, is in charge of Sailor 360 training, and is a Command Financial Specialist. She has given so much to our Sailors. Petty Officer Bush is the perfect example of what we expect from our leaders today, especially as a first class petty officer aspiring to be a chief petty officer.”
She said that her success was a team effort, but she wants to repay the people who helped her by getting involved in the command and helping others.
Bush encourages anyone who is struggling with a difficult situation to ask for help.
"It is okay to make mistakes, and it is okay to go through hard times," she said. "It doesn't define you as a person, as a leader, as a friend, but it is okay to ask for help. I felt apprehensive, but I wish I would have reached out sooner. I learned the hard way with my situation, and if I had maybe reached out earlier, things might have been different."
She added, "Taking care of yourself is going to take care of everything else. If you aren't good, then everything else won't be either. Someone will be there to help and support you."
She said that she feels that she owes so much to the Navy that has given her so much.
"The Navy is very important to me," said Bush. "When my father died, and I joined, it gave me purpose. If I hadn't done that, I don't know where I would be now. The Navy has always brought me back. Going through a rough situation later in my career, the Navy saved me."
She feels that being selected as NRD San Diego Sailor of the Year is proof that a person's struggles don't have to define them.
"Being selected as Sailor of the Year has a lot of meaning for me, and it feels really good for me," she said. "The fact that I could turn my situation into what it is now makes me proud of myself. I am the best that I have ever been. I know how to handle situations, and if I need to take a step back and talk to someone, then I do. Every day I wake up and vow that I am going to be better today than yesterday.”
For Bush, the selection as Sailor of the Year is a stepping stone to bigger goals.
"I want to be a chief, and I am not stopping until that happens," said Bush. "There was a bump in the road, and I understand that I made a mistake, but I am not doing that again. I am going to make sure that I get to put anchors on. Whether that is next cycle or five years from now, it is going to happen."
Established January 1975, NRD San Diego encompasses 210,000 square miles covering Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California. Headquartered at Naval Base Point Loma, NRD San Diego has more than 50 recruiting stations in the tri-state region and employs more than 300 recruiters, support personnel, and civilians.
| Date Taken: | 11.26.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.27.2019 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 353808 |
| Location: | MORENO VALLEY, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 291 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NRD San Diego SOY Overcomes Adversity, Emerges Stronger, by CPO Carla Burdt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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