MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicolas Pantoja, a native of Placentia, California, serves the U.S. Navy at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Rota, Spain.
Pantoja attended El Dorado High School and graduated in 2017.
Determined to find the path forward, Pantoja began a career in Navy Medicine.
“What inspired me to join the Navy was that after graduating high school, I did not have a specific path in life I knew I wanted to take, and with my family having a background in military service, it seemed like the perfect option to find a career along with traveling to many different countries,” Pantoja said. “I chose Navy Medicine since I enjoyed the idea of going into medicine to save lives and experience learning all aspects of working in health care to broaden my career options for my future.”
Lessons from Placentia continue to shape Pantoja’s service.
“I learned discipline and tenacity from my veteran dad, uncles and my previous high school water polo team,” Pantoja said. “These values helped me during too many challenging times where I had been physically and mentally exhausted and pushed through regardless of how hard it was, especially when I was assigned to the Marines.”
As a hospital corpsman, Pantoja supports Navy missions worldwide. Pantoja was previously assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 13 and deployed aboard the USS John P. Murtha.
“Currently, I am a suitability screening coordinator where I am responsible for overseeing the suitability screening process for service members and their families in conducting medical, dental and educational screenings to determine their eligibility for overseas and operational duty assignments,” Pantoja said. “My role supports the Navy worldwide to ensure members are qualified and can contribute effectively to their duties as well as have their medical needs properly cared for where they get located.”
Pantoja, who has served in the Navy for eight years, has witnessed Navy Medicine’s impact firsthand.
“I have definitely seen Navy Medicine make a difference in real time during a past deployment I was assigned to, where my medical team trained another medical team from two Pacific allied countries in life-saving measures successfully,” Pantoja said.
Pantoja is able to apply the skills learned in Navy Medicine to real-life situations.
“I think one event that really impacted me, surprisingly, was in my first two years of service in Okinawa when I had gone out with a few friends to hike up a muddy mountain, and on the hike back, an elderly woman hiking with her family had broken her ankle,” Pantoja said. “We all let our training take over and found what we could do to splint the foot, and we carried her down safely. That really opened my eyes on what I have learned will be useful for the rest of my life.”
According to Navy officials, NMRTC’s mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high-quality healthcare services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research.
NMRTC Rota serves as a force multiplier in Navy Medicine’s strategic global medical support mission throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East while also supporting operational readiness and maintaining a strategic repository of expertise at the Naval Hospital Rota Military Treatment Facility within the Iberian Peninsula.
Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below and above the sea and ashore.
This year, the Navy is commemorating its contribution to the nation’s defense as the United States celebrates 250 years of independence.
According to Navy officials, for more than 250 years, the Navy has sailed the globe defending freedom and protecting prosperity.
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
When reflecting on their Navy career, Pantoja considers seeing different parts of the world the highlight.
“The feeling as we were coming back home was very gratifying, knowing we traveled all over the Pacific,” Pantoja said.
Pantoja serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
“To me, it means being part of a great team that can get most any job done,” Pantoja said. “To be adaptable and capable of more than most people think anyone can handle.”
Pantoja has had many memorable moments while serving in the military.
“When I was on liberty in Singapore, the ship had sent out a recall one hour early, and my buddy and I were too far from the ship’s shuttle stop, and every taxi had stopped for the night,” Pantoja said. “It was raining, and at this point, we started seeing groups from the ships running down the streets in the direction of the base, and we decided to do the same. With 30 minutes left, 20 of us were running soaked, laughing at our ridiculous situation. We got there 10 minutes late, but we found out our leadership was on a bus that was not able to make it on time either, so we all couldn't get in trouble.”
Pantoja understands that Navy Medicine is different from civilian health care.
“In civilian health care, it’s nurses who are the ones able to do a lot of the patient care,” Pantoja said. “But in Navy Medicine, the corpsmen in an operational setting are able to do several treatments and push medication that are considered advanced interventions.”
Pantoja encourages others interested in a career in health care to consider Navy Medicine.
“I would say the Navy holds many more chances to benefit from than what you think,” Pantoja said. “From experiences, college, the job you chose to the people you meet, all the invaluable experiences to carry with you when you least expect it.”