JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON – (Oct. 15, 2022) – National Hispanic Heritage Month marks a time to showcase and honor the many contributions Hispanic Americans have made to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the nation.

For Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, Juan Perez, a management and program analyst, assigned to the Administrative Department, is a representation of the highly professional and diverse civilian workforce within the Department of the Navy.

Born in Laredo, Texas, and raised in San Antonio, Perez began his Navy civilian career in 2019 after 15 years in the America’s Navy serving aboard USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37), at Naval Consolidated Brig in Miramar, a recruiter with Naval Recruiting District San Antonio, and with Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137 at Naval Air Station Lemoore.

A graduate of Texas A&M International University, Perez’s duties include supporting the command on all administrative duties and serving as the command sponsor coordinator and command off-duty coordinator.

According to Perez, he has met some very interesting people and friends at NAMRU San Antonio, plans to retire, and continue to support the mission of the command.

“I have become an asset to the command and continue to adjust with the everyday challenges the world throws as us such as changes in leadership and COVID-19,” said Perez. “Though to some administration sounds easy, it isn’t, but once you take the bull by the horns, it’s all smooth sailing.”

Perez plans to continue to be a positive role model to his family and stay spiritually strong.

“I have learned to adapt and to always change with the environment,” said Perez, whose father passed away early in his life. “My mother has been an inspiration to us all. What I learned from her is to never give up on anything, not to spend my time on worthless things, and to always put God on everything I do.”

Possessing a diverse workforce is important to NAMRU San Antonio as it acknowledges individual strengths of each Sailor, Soldier, civilian and contractor, and the potential they bring to accomplishing the command’s mission.

NAMRU San Antonio’s mission is to conduct gap driven combat casualty care, craniofacial, and directed energy research to improve survival, operational readiness, and safety of DoD personnel engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.

NAMRU San Antonio is one of the leading research and development laboratories for the U.S. Navy under the DoD and is one of eight subordinate research commands in the global network of laboratories operating under the Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, Md.