SANTA RITA, Guam – A 2014 homeschool graduate and Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, native is serving in the U.S. Navy with U.S. Naval Hospital Guam.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Heidi Cheek |
Hospitalman Jonathon Boudreaux is responsible for basic medical screening and healthcare support for service members and their families.
Boudreaux credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Breaux Bridge.
“The small knit community I grew up in, everybody knew each other," said Boudreaux. "If you were going through something, somebody was always there for you and had a word of encouragement. That's definitely similar to Navy life.”
Naval Hospital Guam is comprised of the main hospital in Agana Heights and two branch clinics, medical and dental, on Naval Base Guam. The hospital’s staff consists of 516 active duty and 201 civilians, contractors, reservists and volunteers who serve more than 26,000 beneficiaries.
According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.
“The relationships you make with your patients is the most rewarding part of serving here," Boudreaux said. "You don't just see them once. You'll see them over and over again. You get to feeling like a family.”
Serving in the Navy means Boudreaux is part of a world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Boudreaux is most proud of being able to teach others.
“I like knowing that when I am gone they know how to do the job and can take care of things,” said Boudreaux.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Boudreaux and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, one that will provide a critical component of the Navy the nation needs.
“I get to do all kinds of funs stuff while folks back home get to be free," added Boudreaux. "When I decided to join the Navy, I had a moment when I realized the great freedoms that we have because of the military. I wanted a chance to be part of that.”