Service Branch:  United States Marine Corps, Sergeant

Years of Service:  1997 to 2001

Would you like to share any details of your military history, awards you may have received or other accomplishments?:  I served in Okinawa, Japan at the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Command Center at Camp Courtney, and Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 is an aviation ground support unit of the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.  While stationed at MWSS 274, I deployed to Poland for cold weather training.  I participated in a Combined Arms Exercise (CAX).  The Marine Corps' largest, and most effective live-fire training program at Twentynine Palms, California.  I received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Certificate of Commendation, and Meritorious Mast Award.

Please take a moment to reflect on your thoughts when considering your service uniform.  What does your service uniform represent to you?  I come from a line of military service on my father’s side of the family.  My father retired from the Army.  In addition, my mother has been a government employee for 30 years. Having grown up as a military brat, it instilled in me the importance of giving, and helping others.  Those experiences translated into my own need to serve.  So when I left the Marine Corps, it was my desire to continue living up to the slogan “for God, Country, and Corps”, which I now apply to my federal service God, Country and Government!    

Teamwork is essential across many contexts in life.  Please share how your service in the military cultivated an appreciation for the value of teamwork.  Do you draw from these experiences, or what similarities exist, when working within teams at the DOE?  I appreciate the value of teamwork because one can stand alone and still succeed in their objectives.  However, I have learned through my military service that there is no ‘I’ in TEAM and that when a team succeeds, everyone succeeds, and you are stronger as a team.  If you stand together, you can accomplish anything.  

Military service can have a profound and lasting impact on those who serve. Your perspective is unique in having seen both the military and the civilian sides of service.  What story could you share of service before self?  In thinking about this question, I realized that while there is a story, the main and most important story is that when one elects to serve, every day of service is an example of service before self.  In the military we are taught to be self-sacrificing and look out for your team.  Even while working at DOE, I make it a point to check in on my co-workers from time to time to ask how they are doing, and I will ask them if there is anything that I can help them with.  I also volunteer for projects or tasks to help relieve someone else’s long list of things to get accomplished.  In my mind, these are examples of service before self.     

What inspired your interest the agency, and how did your prior service prepare you to join the DOE’s workforce?  I at the Site Office as a contractor to DOE and saw the interesting projects that were happening at the laboratory.  I knew that I wanted to work for DOE, and my prior service was a tremendous asset as I have traveled the world, served with various ethnicities, and met people of all types of different backgrounds.  The laboratory and the Site Office have diverse staff and employees, so I felt my prior service strengthens my ability to work with people from different cultures.     

Your talents contribute to an innovative and vibrant scientific ecosystem important for matters of national security, energy technologies, and economic prosperity.  How does your role, whether directly or indirectly, allow the agency to continue push the frontiers of science?  I conduct and participate in assessments in the areas of Procurement, Contract Compliance and Property, develop and submit contractor feedback that meets Office of Science schedule milestones, quality expectations relative to performance and deliverables, and participate effectively in the periodic and annual Laboratory Performance Evaluation process.  I have participated on several working groups to improve policies and procedures, and help resolve issues within the department.