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JBSA News
NEWS | Aug. 29, 2017

Commissioning a family affair for newly minted Army social worker

By Derrick Crawford 5th Army Medical Recruiting Battalion Advertising and Public Affairs

For Army 2nd Lt. Ashley Carrillo, 28, of Waco, Texas, her recent commissioning as a licensed clinical social worker is more than the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to serve her country. It is about joining a family of service. 

 

Her grandfather, retired Navy Cmdr. John Hill, 80, commissioned Carrillo into the Army Medical Service Corps during a July 28 ceremony at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, wearing the same uniform he last wore on active duty in 1980.   

 

“It is an honor and just a real blessing,” Hill said. “Not too many grandfather’s get to swear in one of their grandchildren.”

 

Each word of the oath Carrillo repeated after her grandfather brought her closer to being part of the military fabric she is now charged with strengthening.  In addition to her grandfather, other family members have answered the call to service, with her father having served an enlistment in the Marines and a cousin currently enlisted in the Air Force.

 

“There really aren’t words to describe what I felt being able to repeat after him that oath that we take as Soldiers,” Carrillo said. “It was definitely a moment that myself, him and my family will definitely cherish.”

 

A native of Paris, Texas, Hill served a total of 33 years, including time in both active duty and Reserve components.  However, he had no qualms about his granddaughter’s choice to be an Army officer, he said, especially considering that before he ever donned Navy blue, he was a member of both the Army National Guard and Air Force ROTC while studying at Baylor University.

 

“In fact, on Wednesdays you wore your ROTC uniform, so I wore an Air Force uniform all day and then switched to an Army uniform that night and went to my Army National Guard drill,” recalled Hill, who received his commission after completing Navy Officer Candidate School in 1960. He went on to serve as a shipboard communications officer with collateral duty as a legal officer.

 

“I remember the Navy very fondly, but I don’t care to go on civilian cruises today,” he said with a chuckle, “because I got all of the cruising I wanted to do in the Navy.”

 

His service made an impact on Carrillo and ignited what she says has been a long-held desire to wear a military uniform. She fondly recalls childhood memories of wearing her grandfather’s officer’s cap and intently listening to his accounts of life at sea. Through him, she said she began painting a picture of her future.

 

“I have always been proud of his service and the accomplishments he’s had in the military,” she said.  “I think a lot of the traits that I see in him, as far as being meticulous, dedicated and committed, disciplined, and respectful, are a lot of qualities I really look up to. I thought it would be an honor to serve like my grandfather and have those experiences the military can provide.”

 

Like many people sparked by the 9/11 terrorist attacks to join the military, Carrillo, who was 12 years old at the time, also cites it as a seminal moment in her young life. That sense of service has buoyed her pursuit of an appointment in the Army Medical Service Corps, a journey that includes two previous unsuccessful attempts.  

 

“I knew it was a competitive program, and I knew I might not make it the first time,” explained Carrillo, who holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology from Avila University, Kansas City, Mo., and a master’s in criminal justice from Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

 

“There were times when it was frustrating, and I really started to doubt if I was going to get in. I thought, ‘Maybe the military didn’t see me as a good fit.’  So, I started to question myself.”

 

Those questions would always lead back to the Army despite her fulfillment with the work and community service she does now as a conservatorship or legal worker with Child Protective Services in the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. 

 

“The military is the way I want to serve,’” Carrillo said.  “I really want this.  I really don’t see myself doing anything else, and I have always just felt that I am supposed to be a Soldier.”

 

She points to the self-assurance and diligence of her newly assigned recruiter, Army Sgt. 1st Class Chad McLaughlin of the San Antonio Medical Recruiting Center, 5th Army Medical Recruiting Battalion, as a sign that things could be different the third time around. “McLaughlin has been amazing,” Carrillo said.  

 

“He said ‘look, let me look over your packet. Let me see what can be better. Give me one chance, and I will help you get there.’”

 

Carrillo is now preparing to attend both a Direct Commissioning Course and Basic Officer Leadership Course.  She said, she looks forward to begin her career in Army social work, a field she believes puts her in the best position to help military members and their families “work through their traumas, their pain and their hurt,” especially as they deal with the added stresses of deployment.

 

Hill said he’s proud of his granddaughter’s accomplishments and her persistence to pursue her goals no matter how difficult. 

 

“I hope she has the same experiences that I had,” he said.  “She’s proud to serve her country.”