Petty Officer 1st Class Jacquelyn D. Childs –
Service members and civilians from the Navy, Army and Air
Force gathered at the Medical Education and Training Campus on Joint Base San
Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Jan. 25 for a celebration of life memorial for a
Sailor who passed away Dec. 28, 2015.
Twenty-three-year-old Seaman Nenit Coltra worked at METC,
the joint military medicine education command whose Navy service component is
Navy Medicine Training Support Center, or NMTSC. The young Sailor worked among
very senior leadership, both active duty and civilian, where co-workers said
she excelled greatly.
“She was assigned to us as a clinical care coordinator in
the division and she brought immense energy to the office,” said Navy Capt.
Richard Hagerty, her supervisor at METC. “She was routinely tasked with the
most challenging assignments, but she did them with pure joy.”
Others who worked closest with her spoke during the ceremony
about fond memories of their time together. Her senior leadership also shared
their thoughts to everyone in attendance.
“There always seems to be unanswered questions at times like
this, especially when we lose somebody close to us in our Navy family, in our
METC family,” said Navy Capt. Denise Smith, NMTSC commanding officer.
“Gathering together today and celebrating this life will hopefully help us come
closer to her and bring closure to us. We will not forget her, but rather we
will humbly remember her.”
Along with leaders and co-workers from NMTSC and METC were
her leaders and friends at the Defense Medical Readiness and Training
Institute, or DMRTI, where she worked prior to moving to METC.
“We’re proud of her service and proud of her
professionalism,” Hagerty said. “Her short life will not lack in influence,
which she left on myself and others around her. I know all of us will remember
her for living her life fully.”
The event included a ceremonial flag-folding while Taps was
played. The flag and a recording of the ceremony will be presented to Coltra’s
family.