GUAM -- Military Sealift Command Far East selected Petty Officer Perpetuo Quintua, a reservist on extended orders in Guam, as its junior Sailor of the Quarter.

While assigned to Ship Support Unit Guam as the lead medical representative, Quintua has been instrumental in keeping civil service mariners healthy and vaccinated. His efforts have helped ensure the medical readiness of the MSC fleet operating in the Indo-Pacific Region.

“The majority of my role during the pandemic is to implement health protocols to lessen the impact of COVID-19 to make sure we maintain a healthy status of the MSC ships doing crew swaps on Guam,” Quintua said.

“It is important because we have to make sure we maintain a COVID-free fleet and maintain healthy crews so they can fulfill their mission of supporting the fleet.”

To that end, Quintua tracks the medical and personal health and well-being of civil service and contracted mariners. This includes keeping up with numerous little details that have a great impact on the big picture – medical testing, appointments, prescription refills, urgent care, and release from required quarantine periods upon arrival on Guam. Quintua considers assisting with MSC’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts “one of the greatest accomplishments.”

His civilian job helped set him up for success at SSU Guam. When not on active duty, Quintua works as a health educator with Guam’s Department of Public Health and Social Services. In this role, he’s tasked with health promotion, client retention and progress reporting for numerous programs.

“Public health in the civilian world is not so different. We serve individual patients and clients with unique medical conditions who are dealing with the same uncertainties right now.”

For this reason, Quintua says the reserve program benefits not only SSU Guam but also the entire fleet.

“With our diverse capabilities and skill sets, the Navy can send reservists anywhere, anytime,” he said.

For the last six months, Quintua has applied all his expertise and experience to his responsibilities as the lead medical representative for MSC Far East’s Ship Support Unit Guam. Quintua will soon wrap up this assignment, one he never expected to be anything more than his normal annual training.

“There was no intent on staying longer than 150 days until I realized this is exactly what I wanted to do, especially during these times,” the second class petty officer from Tayabas City, Philippines, said.

“I would prefer to continue doing so if given a chance.”

Have you worked with MSC in the past?
This is the first time I was assigned to work with MSC, and I never thought it would be this exciting, and challenging and fulfilling at the same time.

Why is the MSC mission important and why did you want to support it?
The Navy relies on the mariners for supplies, ammunition, repairs, personnel movement, and for conducting specialized missions. MSC plays a vital role in maintaining and sustaining not only the world’s greatest Navy but also the world’s most reliable and lethal armed forces. I want to support what MSC does because I see my mission, as a reservist, similar to theirs. We are both ready, and we rally behind our warriors, ultimately becoming the warrior ourselves.

How did you contribute to mission accomplishment?
Commitment – Each mariner who comes to the island to meet a ship has a very unique situation. I have to make sure I am faithful to policies, regulations and requirements, while at the same time taking care of each mariner’s specific needs. To do all this, you have to be committed - to the mission, the policies and the individual mariner.

Network and Team Building – I think I am able to leverage SSU Guam’s capability and proactively watch for potential challenges to help avoid some pitfalls, Working with the SSU Guam team I help ensure positive results and mission accomplishment. My job could not have been done as easily without the support of the team at SSU Guam and the network of capable individuals and organizations who are always ready to support. Fortunately, I have established and maintained a good relationship with my counterparts at the hospital and all over base, basically with all those in the business of helping us take care of MSC mariners.

Flexibility -- On any given day, I come to work not really knowing what is going to happen. I literally sit down in my office chair and say: “Okay, what do we have for today?” I learned the importance of focusing on every day as if that’s everything that matters. Bottom line is, I have to be flexible and carry out each day, one mariner, one task at a time. One thing is for sure, there is never a dull day.

Why did you decide to affiliate with the reserves?
I thought joining the reserves was my best option, given my situation four years ago, I still believe it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Being in the reserves gives me the opportunity to keep my civilian status while at the same time giving me an opportunity to don my service uniform anytime I am needed.

Why are reservists important to mission accomplishment?
We are ready! Our mission is to “provide strategic depth and deliver operational capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps team and joint forces, in times of peace and war” (source: Navy Reserve Homeport). This is what I try to live every day.

What can active duty and civilian employees learn from reservists?
It is not the uniform, or the rank, or the clothes that I wear coming to work in the morning. What’s important is how I put these things to work, so that at the end of the day, I can proudly say I have done something worth my time.

Anything you would like to add?
I just wanted to take this opportunity to express how grateful I am to be able to work with the most amazing team I could ever ask for. SSU Guam is a wonderful place to work, learn, and be successful. The command leadership, headed by Cmdr. Gillian Medina, has given me every kind of example and opportunity to work harder for my goals, look after the needs of everyone who comes my way, stay focused on the mission, while at the same time still enjoy and love what I do.