2 weeks Ago By Daily Republic Staff
FAIRFIELD – A Travis AFB airman is serving at U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Dejon Watson, a Mississippi native and resident of Fairfield, serves with the 60th Medical Support Squadron. "I grew up watching my cousins, uncles, great uncles and my grandfather come home in uniform with stories of traveling all over the world helping other people. I joined the Air Force because I also wanted to be a part of something greater while helping others," Watson said in a story originally written by Rick Burke with the Navy Office of Community Outreach.
" "My mother, who also happened to be my fourth-grade English teacher, instilled in me the quote, 'Knowledge is power,'" Watson added. "With every year, those same words cut deeper than the year before, especially during my time in the military. Learning new skills, words, and technologies immediately opens doors to new possibilities and pushes me forward in networking and job excellence.
" He serves as a biomedical equipment technician. "I manage and assist work orders for equipment throughout the hospital," Watson said. "I’ve worked on defibrillators, environmental machines and pharmaceutical refrigerators.
It’s cool that my job doesn’t limit me to the hospital; I’ve worked across the base. My job is important because we are the backbone of every patient-led department. The hospital uses technology and medical equipment to treat people every day.
If the equipment breaks, the patient can’t be helped. We fix equipment as quickly and efficiently as possible. We can’t afford to get it wrong.
” His experience in Cuba has been an interesting one. “It's weird not seeing other Airmen. I feel like I stepped into another realm," Watson said.
"There are many similarities, though, so the differences I do find give me plenty of ideas to bring back to my own unit. Normally, when we have large, expensive equipment, we would call in technicians from that company to do the work. But those techs can’t always come to a secluded area like Gitmo, so sometimes we have to call them so they can talk us through what we need to do.
“My favorite thing about this job is how many people I get to meet," Watson added. "In a medical job, you typically work in one section, but I get to work across every section as I fix medical equipment. It’s helped me network and has offered me opportunities that I may not have had if I had a different job.
For instance, I spoke about wanting to travel at my home duty station. Someone came to me and asked me, ‘Do you want to go to Cuba?’ When I heard about it, I thought it was a joke at first because people knew I wanted to travel. When they told me I was going somewhere with beautiful beaches and was a smaller hospital where I could get to know everyone, it seemed like a great opportunity.
” Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay provides health care to the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay community, which consists of approximately 4,500 military members, federal employees, U.
S. and foreign national contractors and their families. The hospital also operates the only overseas military home health care facility providing care to elderly special category residents who sought asylum on the installation during the Cuban Revolution.
Watson has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service. "One of my proudest accomplishments in the Air Force would be earning recognition by the squadron commander for the Meritorious Service Award at David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base. Moreover, I was ecstatic upon learning that the airmen I supervise gained accolades and positive recognition from award packages I wrote.
These achievements remind me of my purpose in the military," Watson said. "Personally, serving in the Air Force always comes back to helping and serving others," Watson said. "Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, but by working together, we fill those weaker spaces with another's forte, creating an indestructible unit where we can all rise together, bettering ourselves and our communities.
" The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
“America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom," Navy officials said..
