11/4/2013 -- CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – For Petty Officer 2nd Class Aaron Christian T. Abreu, there were a number of factors that led him to success. Abreu believes that personal motivation, the efforts of his junior sailors, and leaders who provided constant guidance allowed him to become a successful corpsman and earn the title of junior sailor of the year for the 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Abreu, an administrative section leader with 1st Medical Battalion, 1st MLG, remains humble in his success and continues to strive for improvement.
Since his early years, Abreu’s parents taught him the value of aspiring to be the best.
“I’m the type of person who always wants to do better because that was how I was brought up by my parents,” said Abreu, a native of Quezon City, Philippines.
Abreu’s father, a professor by trade, pushed him and his siblings to excel academically; while his mother, a nurse, took him to work and showed him medical and administrative procedures when he was in middle school.
Abreu himself pursued a bachelor’s degree in nursing in the Philippines before his family migrated to the United States. Upon his arrival, he decided to put all his efforts into serving as a Navy corpsman.
However, despite Abreu’s personal drive and enthusiasm, he has always understood that most success comes from teamwork.
“Nobody gets to the top by themselves,” said Abreu. “I was both in [Headquarters & Support Company] and Alpha Surgical Company, [1st Medical Bn.], and I was very fortunate that my subordinates were also motivated and that they got the job done without any complacency. Without that kind of attitude from the entire crew, it would’ve been impossible to accomplish some of the more difficult jobs we were tasked with.”
Furthermore, his command provided him with all the resources he needed to succeed in his career.
“My chain of command always gave me guidance,” said Abreu. “They actually sat down with me and checked on my career’s progress and clearly outlined their expectations on what I need to strive for.”
Abreu remembers an experience early in his career that inspired him to do better each day.
“My supervisors tasked me with creating [an important document], and they were more than satisfied with the work,” said Abreu. “They sat with me and told me that I went above and beyond their expectations, saying that I would be a great leader someday. When someone tells you that, you don’t want to disappoint that person.”
Abreu continues to go beyond his leaders’ expectations.
“As a junior sailor, he showed that he was a consistent performer,” said Chief Petty Officer Charles Mara, Alpha Surgical Co. chief petty officer, 1st Medical Bn. “He led other sailors to success, not just in his section but within the whole battalion itself.”
It has been five years since Abreu enlisted in the Navy, and he has already had an accomplished career. Abreu still aims to become the ideal sailor.
“There are always things to improve on and mistakes to correct,” said Abreu. “There are a lot of outstanding sailors out there. I’m just fortunate enough to be able to represent my unit with the [junior sailor of the year award].”