Photo By Cpl. Kenneth Jasik | Christopher A. Gallegos, safety manager, 1st Dental Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics...... read more read more
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For 21 years, retired Navy Chief Christopher A. Gallegos,
worked as a corpsman who specialized in preventive medicine
in order to keep troops healthy and combat ready.
When he retired this past February, his service to the Navy and Marine Corps didn’t end there. For Gallegos, 40, a government position similar to his expertise in the Navy, preventive medicine, opened up soon after he left the Navy.
“I enjoyed my years in, but it’s time to move on,” said Gallegos, safety manager, Dental Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group. “In my capacity at Dental Battalion, I’m not military but I’m still associated with it. I can still get a taste of it without worrying about many things that come with being on active
duty, like deployments.”
Gallegos joined the Navy as a corpsman in February 1990 because he wanted to see the world. Since then, he visited many places many only hear about over the course of six deployments.
“The most rewarding one was probably the Pacific Partnership
on the USS Mercy,” said Gallegos. “We did humanitarian missions to the Philippines, Indonesia and East Timor. It was basically a
follow-up to the 2004 tsunami relief.”
But it was during an earlier deployment where Gallegos became interested in preventive medicine.
“I was on my first [Western Pacific deployment], and I saw the chief doing different things,” said Gallegos. “It was easier to prevent people from getting sick than to deal with them afterwards.”
After that deployment, Gallegos gained a genuine interest in preventive medicine. He went on to learn more about the subject in advanced military classes.
“I like to interact with people,” said Gallegos. “I enjoy educating them on safer ways to do things.”
Gallegos knew that his time in the Navy was finite, so the
high school dropout decided to get his education while he
was still enlisted. Gallegos earned his master’s degree
in Occupational Safety and Health, a field in which he
envisioned burgeoning career opportunities.
For a significant portion of his Navy career, Gallegos
worked in occupational and environmental safety offices
around the Marine Corps. As he prepared to retire, a civilian
job as the Dental Battalion safety manager became available
on Camp Pendleton, not far from where Gallegos was
working: the safety office of 1st MLG.
“I got very lucky with this,” said Gallegos. “Just the timing
for me, as far as the interview process goes. Most guys
spend a long time searching for jobs after the military.”
Gallegos may have been lucky, but it is possible he made his own luck by preparing for his end of active service by preparing 12 years in advance. His hard work paid off for him because he says he really enjoys his civilian job.
“I’m still new, and I’m still learning a lot of it,” said Gallegos. “What I’m learning is that as a civilian we interact a little differently, it’s
like a different duty station with different missions and
different types of processes. I like that I’m learning a lot of
things and also working with people.”
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2011 18:56 |
| Story ID: | 70288 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 87 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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