MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Lt. Jyl Bean, a native of Niskayuna, New York, was recently selected for Junior Environmental Health Officer of the Year while serving at U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (USNMRTC) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“I am incredibly humbled to be selected as the Junior Environmental Health Officer of the Year by the Medical Service Corps,” Bean said. “For me, this award is a powerful reminder that a career is a journey with both failures and triumphs. It proves that perseverance pays off, and I hope it shows even the most junior sailor that you can overcome setbacks to achieve your goals.”
Additionally, Bean was selected for the Navy Duty Under Instruction Selection (DUINS) program to complete a doctorate degree in public health.
“When your aspirations begin to fade, it’s time to hang up the towel, and I am not ready to do that,” Bean said. “There is a lot more good to be done and more goals to be accomplished as I prepare for my next challenge of getting my Ph.D. in public health. I hope my story can inspire those around me to keep pushing forward.”
Bean is a 2006 graduate of Niskayuna High School. Additionally, Bean earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Florida in 2021.
“I started working as a toddler, getting nickels from people in our restaurant,” Bean said. “I later worked with my dad in our food truck and had three jobs by the time I was 15 — I have not stopped working since. Hard work and getting the job done have been with me my whole life.”
Starting as an enlisted hospital corpsman, Bean has served in the Navy for 19 years.
“I joined the Navy to pay for school myself and allow my younger brother to attend college,” Bean said. “I have a long history of military members in my family.”
Today, Bean serves as an environmental health officer at USNMRTC Guantanamo Bay.
“All I know is the Navy,” Bean said. “I did a short stint as a very junior sailor and realized the Navy is all I wanted to do. As an environmental health officer, I’m a jack of all trades, so there is never a dull moment in my job.”
USNMRTC Guantanamo Bay focuses on three critical mission priorities: warfighter readiness, medical force generation and supporting the delivery of high-quality health care at U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay.
U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay provides health care to the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay community, which consists of approximately 4,500 military members, federal employees, U.S. and foreign national contractors and their families. The hospital also operates the only overseas military home health care facility, providing care to elderly special category residents who sought asylum on the installation during the Cuban Revolution.
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.
Looking back, Bean said the journey has been the highlight of serving in the military.
“I am most proud of putting on my anchors as a chief hospital corpsman at VR-62, the command that made me,” Bean said. “I went from petty officer first class to a chief petty officer to lieutenant junior grade. I will also remember the support I had there to accomplish that monumental transition from enlisted to officer.”
Bean serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
“I would not want to do anything else with my life,” Bean said. “When I retire, that’s it! I will leave the Navy knowing this was my career, it built my family, supported my personnel and professional growth and hopefully I’ll leave my legacy behind.”
More information is available here: https://www.navy.mil/navy-250/.