Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Tristan Lotz | 190311-N-ME396-003 GROTON, Conn. (March 11, 2019) Surrounded by souvenirs from his...... read more read more
Yearning to serve from a young age, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Terry Robinson III has been from Guam to Groton and many places in between, since he first put on the uniform of a United States Sailor.
A native of High Point, North Carolina, Robinson first felt the call to duty while he was in high school during the high point of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
“I was all geared up to join the Marine Corps back in 2004,” said Robinson. “It was the height of the war and was looking forward to going and doing things with the Marines. My family said, ‘oh no, you’re not doing that, you’re going to school,’ so I went to college and was in school for a while.”
But Robinson would ultimately find college was not his calling, and he again considered joining the military.
“I was focusing more on the social aspects of college than the academic aspect,” said Robinson of his college days. “So I talked to the recruiter and was able to use the Navy Student Loan Repayment Program to pay back the $38,000 I had in student loans in return for my first three years in the Navy. I have always wanted to join the military since high school, and my grandfather, my uncle and everyone went in the Navy, so that’s why I chose Navy. It was a combination of getting school taken care of and serving my country.”
Robinson said he did not know what to expect when he chose Corpsman as his rating, but quickly came to love it. His first duty station was in the paradise of Guam, where Robinson not only enjoyed the beautiful island, but came to know many great people and gain valuable experiences as a Sailor and person.
“After boot camp I went straight to Corps School,” said Robinson. “My first duty station was Naval Hospital Guam. That was a great experience! It was a tropical island and I got a lot of experience because we see civilian patients as well as military personnel. I got a lot of different experiences with general surgery and OBGYN.”
After completing his tour of duty on Guam, Robinson transitioned from the tropical island life to the brisk-paced life of an aircraft carrier Sailor aboard one of America’s mighty floating airbases. He also shifted duties from medical to dental care.
“After that I was on USS Abraham Lincoln as a surgical technician in the dental department,” said Robinson. “We were in the shipyard doing over haul and because of that I got to do dental work at the clinic at Portsmouth. While I was there I cross-decked to USS George Washington and did a southern seas deployment with them in 2015.”
It was aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) that Robinson experienced his first deployment and journeyed to South America, having experiences not many Sailors get to, and seeing some of the most famous sites of the southern hemisphere.
“We went to Chile, Brazil and Peru,” said Robinson. “It was a cool cruise. I got my shellback [crossing the equator] and I joined the Magellan Strait Jacket Club [transiting the Strait of Magellan]. Not many have that one because most people go through the Panama Canal, but carriers are too big so we have to go through the Straits of Magellan. We actually transited the straits with former Secretary of the Navy Ray Maybus.”
Robinson said his favorite port call on the deployment was Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.
“We were there for Thanksgiving and we were able to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Christ Redeemer statue and enjoy Brazilian Barbeque and watch samba dancers and chill on the beach,” said Robinson. “I didn’t have duty the entire time I was there. The day before we pulled in was supposed to be my duty day in case we pulled in that day, and the day after we left was my duty day as well. So that was a pretty sweet time!”
In 2016, Robinson’s adventures on capital ships would come to an end for the time being and he was assigned to his present duty station, Naval Branch Health Clinic onboard Naval Submarine Base (SUBASE) New London, where he has again changed duties within the Corpsman community.
“I’m a surgical technician but we’ve scaled back our surgical services at this clinic,” said Robinson. “After getting my master’s degree in healthcare administration I’ve transitioned to human resources. I’m the awards program manager and the sponsorship coordinator. I’m the education services officer for the command and the drug and alcohol program advisor as well as the diversity committee chairman.”
Robinson added that he has taken part in the diversity committees of every command he has served at. He said he now strives to also help junior Sailors find their way in the Navy and improve themselves the way his mentors helped him improve.
“Diversity committee is my big thing,” said Robinson. “It’s something I have done since I was a Seaman in Guam. I’ve been with the diversity committees of every command I’ve been at. I love coordinating this and putting on events so people can come out and learn about different cultures. Sponsorship is also a big thing for me. When a junior Sailor first checks into the command it’s important they get a good first impression and get feedback so they’re taken care of. For Sailors with families it’s important to make sure they’ve got connections so they can assimilate into the community.”
While assigned to SUBASE New London, Robinson has also deployed with Riverine units and toured Africa. As the time to report to his next duty station approaches, Robinson said he would like to have more experiences his deployment with the Riverines.
“While I’ve been here I got to do an 11-month deployment with Joint Special Operations Command on a damage control surgery team,” said Robinson. “We deployed to the AFRICOM area of responsibility. Got some great experiences with the special operators. I’m actually at my window to pick orders now! I’d like to go back to sea, but on a different platform like an LPD [amphibious transport dock]. Or I would be open to going to Europe. During the AFRICOM deployment I got to visit Sicily and Germany, so I would love to go back there.”
Speaking further of the future, Robinson said he wants to retire after a full career in the Navy. He said he loves serving and the places the Navy has taken him and looks forward to what lies ahead.
“I love the military,” said Robinson. “I love serving my country. I love being operational and going places. I would love to be commissioned as a medical corps officer and a medical administrator. With the Navy moving toward a new operational standpoint, I would love to do medical planning and readiness to give the commanders insight on what assets we have and strategically placing surgical units so that when our warfighters go out, if, God forbid, something happens to them, we have medical assets in the right place to take care of them.”
Robinson said he takes mentoring junior Sailors very seriously. He said he was lucky to have good mentors and supervisors at his first command and wants to ‘return the favor’ so to speak, by serving as a guide and mentor to junior Sailors. He advises junior Sailors to get all they can out of their time serving, whether it is a single four-year enlistment or 20 years and a commission.
“I like mentoring Sailors,” said Robinson. “They look up to me having been on so many deployments and I say to them, ‘the Navy is going to get what it can out of you, so you get what you can out of the Navy.’ That means getting qualifications, going to school, all that stuff.”
From the islands of the west Pacific to the jungles and city lights of South America to the hills of New England, Robinson’s tale is that of a man setting his sights high and hard charging the whole way. It is the story of a man who yearned to put on the uniform like his forefathers and serve. It is the story of a man who has been, quite literally, around the world and back and hungers to serve not only nation, but those immediately around him. It is the story of a man who pursues the ideal to become the best version of himself possible.
“Pretty good for a short guy from down south in North Carolina who’s never really been anywhere to join the Navy and get to see the world, huh?” Robinson concluded with a laugh.
| Date Taken: | 03.14.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2019 12:03 |
| Story ID: | 357617 |
| Location: | GROTON, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, HM2 Robinson: One Hard Charger, by PO2 Tristan Lotz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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