By
Navy Office of Community Outreach
SAN DIEGO – A 1995 John F. Kennedy High School graduate
and Dedeo, Guam native is serving
in the U.S. Navy with Afloat Training Group San Diego.
Chief
Edward Ronquillo
is
a hospital corpsman with
the training group operating out of San Diego, California.
A Navy hospital corpsman is responsible for the care for
wounded and sick sailors and Marines.
“I enjoy the puzzle of my job,” said Ronquillo. “Every patient is unique, so I treat every patient differently. I have to find out the
signs and symptoms followed by an exam. I take the exam findings to diagnose
and care for the patient.”
The training
group provides dynamic training to Navy and Coast Guard sailors to ensure a
combat ready force capable of performing a broad spectrum of missions,
according to Navy officials. Special emphasis is placed on preparing ships'
training teams, special evolution teams and watch teams to institutionalize the
onboard capability to sustain and improve combat readiness throughout an
employment cycle.
“At this command, I get to see the impact of maintaining standards and enforcing
policies in the fleet,” said Ronquillo.
Afloat Training
Group San Diego strives to keep sailors’ warfare expertise sharp by maintaining
professional knowledge and skills through a robust training program of
installations and factory training, technical symposiums, informal training and
self-study. By maintaining a group of subject matters experts in different
warfare areas, they prepare ships to be missions ready.
"It’s amazing to hear our sailors’ stories,” said Capt. James Storm, commander of Afloat Training Group San Diego.
“Some of them are working on their PhDs and others are working on their first
degree. I’ve met sailors who grew up in extreme poverty, and now they own their
own home here in Southern California. Serving here at Afloat Training Group is
considered a career enhancing tour because these sailors are recognized
experts. They lay the foundation for successful deployments.”
According to Navy officials, approximately 355 sailors
make up the training group making their jobs highly specialized in
order to
keep each part of the command running smoothly.
As a member of
the Afloat Training Group San Diego, sailors prepare ships to deploy. Ronquillo
explained they are building a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes. The
trainers know how important it is for the Navy to maintain and uphold
war-fighting capabilities to continue their success on the world’s oceans.
“I come from a Navy
family,” added Ronquillo. “My dad and uncle were both in the Navy. The lineage
and heritage of serving in the Navy is very important to me.”