SEAMAN apprentice Christena Gayle Gonzalez from Potsdam, Saint Elizabeth, serves the United States Navy assigned to Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command (NMRLC) Williamsburg, Virginia. Gayle Gonzalez is a 2015 St Elizabeth Technical High School graduate.

“Growing up in my hometown of Potsdam, I learned the value of hard work and community,” Gayle Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t a big place but people looked out for one another and took pride in doing their part. Team work, accountability and resilience are all the things I saw modelled every day at home. That mindset has stayed with me in the navy.”

Gayle Gonzalez joined the navy a little over a year ago.

“I joined the navy because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself,” she said. “I’ve also always had an interest in the military, and the navy offered not just that opportunity, but also the chance to grow personally and professionally. Before joining the military I was a bartender in Brooklyn, New York. One day, while on the train, I stopped by the recruiting office. I was trying to decide between the army and the navy, but I already knew how to swim, so the decision was easy.”

Today, Gayle Gonzalez serves as a logistics specialist.

Headed by Captain Christopher Barnes, NMRLC develops, acquires, produces, fields, sustains, and provides enduring life cycle support of medical material solutions to the Fleet, Fleet Marine Force, and Joint Forces in high-end competition, crisis, and combat. At the forefront of Navy Medicine’s strategic evolution, NMRLC is well positioned to be the Joint Force’s premier integrated medical logistics support activity.

“My greatest accomplishment so far is completing navy boot camp,” Gayle Gonzalez said. “Graduating wasn’t just about finishing, it was about proving to myself that I could commit, adapt and overcome. It proved to me that I could face adversity and still come out better on the other side. That experience laid the foundation for everything I’ve done since.”

Gayle Gonzalez is grateful to her family, friends and mentors for helping make a navy career possible.

“I would like to first thank my parents, Clyde and Camille Gayle, and the rest of my family for believing in me and supporting me every step of the way,“ she said.

“I’d also like to thank Mr Calbert Powell and Mrs Prudince Powell for the love, kindness and patience they poured out to me in the difficult parts of my adolescent years. Lastly, I’d like to thank my friends Micole, Sasha, Mr Bailey, Safiya, and all the others not mentioned for their continued support and for offering shoulders to cry on and listening ears in times of need.”