By Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach
LEMOORE, CALIF. – Hospitalman Recruit Antony Ossa, a native of Miami, Florida, provides beneficiary care and expeditionary medical readiness while serving with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore at Naval Health Clinic Lemoore. Ossa joined the Navy 11 months ago.
“I joined the Navy for a better life and opportunities,” said Ossa. “My dad and grandfather both served in the Columbian Army. I wanted to make my dad proud by joining the American military for all the sacrifices he has made and the ones that he is still making for me.”
Growing up in Miami, Ossa attended Miami Art Studios and graduated in 2021.
Skills and values similar to those found in Miami are important to succeed in the military.
“I learned the better that you understand someone, the greater the relationship that you have with them,” said Ossa.
These lessons have helped Ossa while serving in the Navy.
Naval Hospital Lemoore was originally commissioned in July 1968 as a 67-bed hospital by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C. In May 2000, the current building was dedicated and in September 2017 it was redesignated as Naval Health Clinic Lemoore.
Naval Health Clinic Lemoore provides quality health care to more than 18,000 people at NAS Lemoore, California and NAS Fallon, Nevada to ensure the Navy and Marine warfighters are medically ready to fight today, tomorrow, and beyond. The command also provides dental care and medical administrative support to Navy, Marine Corps and international students at the Naval Postgraduate School, Defense Language Institute and the Center for Information Dominance in Monterey, California.
With 90 percent 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 trained sailors and a strong Navy.
“Our mission remains timeless – to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. “This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy.”
As a member of the Navy, Ossa is part of a world-class organization focused on maintaining maritime dominance, strengthening partnerships, increasing competitive warfighting capabilities, and sustaining combat-ready forces in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“The Navy is a powerful diplomat,” said Ossa. “They have a presence that although they are willing to give a hand, they will without hesitation, show force whenever it is needed.”
Ossa has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“I’m most proud of completing the Tactical Combat Casualty Care final test for hospital corpsman school,” said Ossa. “The average time to complete this test is 9 minutes and 50 seconds. I completed it in a record time of 6 minutes and 35 seconds. This was the fastest time in my class.”
As Ossa and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.
“Serving in the Navy means knowing where you are needed the most,” said Ossa. “In the Navy, you are required to know basic seamanship and to learn how to work as a team with your fellow shipmates, regardless of rank or specialization.”
Ossa is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my father, Felix Castro,” added Ossa. “Although he was a stubborn man, it was his best quality and it did not remove his love for me any less. No matter if it were good or bad, he would continue to fight as hard as he could. I took that trait from him, which will help me face any challenges ahead of me.”
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