Courtesy Photo | Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Gerard Joseph Porter, a recruiter assigned to NTAG...... read more read more
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DENVER, Colo. – “Living the Dream,” is a phrase that gets thrown around quite often. For one Navy petty officer, he actually is living the dream, it just wasn’t initially his.
Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Gerard Joseph Portez chose to fulfill his father’s dream when he decided to join the military. Portez was in his third year of college when a friend asked if he wanted to join the Navy. That’s when he remembered his father’s dream and how he had always been inspired by men and women who wear the uniform.
“My father always wanted to join the military when he was in the Philippines, but just never had the opportunity,” said Portez.
Portez was born and raised in Laguna, Philippines, along with his younger sister. When he was 15 years old, his family immigrated to the United States.
“I did not know what life would be like,” said Portez.
Ultimately, Los Angeles became his home. He attended, and graduated from, St. Genevieve High School, where he also participated in hip-hop dance. Although he thought about joining the military after high school, he felt he didn’t have the courage to push through and went to college instead. After his third year, he was tired of performing the same routines every day, and after talking with a friend, he realized he wanted to do something bigger than himself and be able to help his parents financially. It was that conversation that changed his life. In an instant he was on his way to fulfilling his father’s dream, while creating a life he himself had only dreamed of.
Portez’s first duty station was on board the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65), homeported in San Diego. After his tour was complete, he walked across the pier to another Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, USS Cape St. George (CG 71). By the end of those back-to-back tours, Portez had advanced to petty officer second class.
“I didn’t get a chance to go to any ports because both ships were in the yards in Everett, Washington, but I worked hard, which helped me advance during my first enlistment,” said Portez.
Well on his way toward petty officer first class, Portez’s long-term goal is to become an officer and retire with thirty years of naval service.
“It wasn’t until I joined the Navy that I realized what the Navy could do for me, such as help me become financially stable and continue to go to college without any loans or debts,” said Portez.
It was after his second tour on a ship that Portez decided to become a recruiter.
“There are so many opportunities in the Navy, such as travel, medical and tuition assistance for us,” said Portez. “I became a recruiter to offer these same opportunities to people in our community to better themselves. Whether they want to go to college now, later, or pass the opportunity for college onto their kids, I want them to be able to have that choice.”
Since being a recruiter, Portez has returned to college to complete his education. He is currently attending Thomas Edison University, where he is 18 credits away from earning his bachelor's degree in kinesiology. Once he is finished with his tour of recruiting, Portez is looking forward to returning to the fleet in Japan, hitting the deck plates with his shipmates, and going on deployments to see various ports around the world. In the meantime, Portez is a part of the Filipino American Community of Colorado and volunteers with Team Rubicon, which is an organization known to Colorado that helps with performing wildfire mitigation and disaster responses.
Portez said his favorite part about recruiting is how he can relate to an applicant, as he too once walked through the very same door asking for information. Now, he is the person on the other side of the table helping an applicant see the benefits and opportunities the Navy can provide.
“Initially, it was hard for me to be in front of people and talk but remembering how it was for me before I joined helped me relate better with the applicant,” said Portez. “I work in a community that is very similar to the one I grew up in. It is personal for me to do the best job possible.”
His hard work and love of the Navy have earned him a Six Shooter award, sourcer of the month for April & May 2023 and a Navy Achievement Medal as a monthly incentive. Additionally, his dedication and leadership led his station to earning Station of the Month for April 2023.
“I am grateful to the Navy for the opportunity to work with people that are willing to raise their hand and perform the oath of enlistment just like I did at one point,” said Portez.
Portez may not be living THE dream, but he is redefining what it means to live his own.
NTAG Rocky Mountain encompasses the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and parts of Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arizona, providing Navy Recruiting services from more than 30 dispersed offices.
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, two Navy Recruiting Regions and 26 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2023 13:05 |
| Story ID: | 449647 |
| Location: | DENVER, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 732 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Recruiter Lives the Dream to Help Others Create Their Own, by Austin Breum, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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