Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Camilo E Fernan | Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Clarissa Garcia poses for a portrait photo inside the USS...... read more read more
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Meet BM1 Clarissa Garcia! BM1 Garcia is a #BoatswainsMate currently working as a #RecruitDivisionCommander (RDC) at the Navy’s only #bootcamp
Garcia was weighing her options at home in #Mission #Texas . She wanted to go to college, but her family couldn’t afford it out of pocket. The military seemed like a good option for its life opportunities and education benefits.
“I didn’t want school to be a burden on my mom and myself. I thought, if I go in and do four years, I come out, I’m going to have what I need in the long run. I figured that’d be the best thing.”
Garcia enlisted to be a boatswain’s mate, one of the Navy’s oldest ratings. She became responsible for ship duties related to marlinespikes, seamanship, ship upkeep, rigging, and pretty much any hands-on thing needed for using a ship on the water.
“Twelve years later, I’m still here. I just like my job as a boatswain, and I enjoy doing it on ships. I wanted to go to the Navy, and do all these deployments, and see the water.”
Her first assignment was USS Wasp (LHD-1), a multipurpose amphibious assault ship. Unfortunately for Garcia, Wasp did not deploy much while she was aboard.
“When you go out there, you actually want to be out there and do your job. I went to school for this, I want to learn this, I’m going to do this. I joined the Navy, you know, who goes into the service and says I’ve never been deployed?”
Garcia decided to do two sea tours in a row. When she finished, her detailer couldn’t find a position at sea for the next assignment. Garcia had to come back to shore. She asked to be an RDC.
“I get to train recruits. I get job satisfaction, even on days where everything seems overloaded, because you just accomplish what you need to do. I like to stay busy, and I like it here because I’m busy all the time.”
BM1 prizes respect in her recruits.
“I want them to always have respect for each other, and respect for anyone regardless of how personal feelings come into play. You’re always going to have days where you don’t like this person, but you have to get your head in the game. You know there’s a job to get done. It’s respect for the service, and for yourself frankly.”
When Garcia is not working, she likes to practice fancywork on paddles and other Navy-style gifts. Fancywork is another name for decorative ropework made by sailors and fishermen. During good weather, she wants to be near the water.
“I love kayaking. I like paddle boarding. I like being in the ocean, being in the water.”
#Hooyah BM1 Garcia!
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2021 12:44 |
| Story ID: | 397946 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruit Training Command Staff in the Spotlight, by PO1 Camilo E Fernan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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