JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Through perseverance, patience and determination, Seaman Gideon Osei is fulfilling his dream of serving in the Navy.
Overcoming obstacles, challenges and doubts along the way that would have caused others to quit, Osei has persevered and is beginning his service in the Navy as a hospital corpsman after graduating from the Medical Education and Training Campus at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Jan. 28.
Osei’s goal of joining the military started three years ago when he and his wife, Ellen, who was pregnant at the time, emigrated to the U.S. from Ghana, located in western Africa.
Osei said as an immigrant he takes pride in being a servicemember.
“One of the things that made me want to join was the uniform,” Osei said. “In Ghana, many people respect people who have come here to the U.S. and joined the military. So it was for the pride of it.”
He decided to enlist in the Navy because it would help him fulfill two of his goals: becoming an American citizen and furthering his educational opportunities in the field of medicine. Before emigrating to the U.S., Osei had worked as a registered nurse for four years at a hospital in Ghana, where he supervised nursing assistants.
The process of joining the Navy required a lot of patience from Osei. He signed up through the Delayed Entry Program and had to wait two years before he could go to basic training, as it took a long time for the Navy to obtain his educational transcripts from Ghana and conduct a background check.
At one point, Osei said he lost hope and considered opting out of the Delayed Entry Program after his first two ship out dates to go to basic training were canceled. But his chief recruiter in Maryland, where he and his family reside, encouraged him to stay in the program and not give up on his dream of joining the Navy.
“I told my chief (recruiter) I may opt out of the Delayed Entry Program and the chief told me, ‘It pays to wait,’” Osei said. “I shouldn’t lose hope and I should hold on.”
Finally, he got his instructions to ship out for basic training in July 2018.
Osei overcame another set of challenges at basic training, a language barrier between him and his instructors and passing his swim test. He overcame the language barrier by learning to pay close attention to the words spoken to him and he passed his swim test on the second try after practicing and working on his backstroke for six weeks.
“I never believed I could pass the swim test,” he said. “As I passed the swim test, it really boosted my confidence. That was the beginning of my confidence in the Navy, passing my swim test. Confidence as in being able to do whatever task I am entrusted with in the Navy.”
Osei came to METC in October 2018 as a student in the Hospital Corpsman Basic Program. During his time at METC, he made an impression with students and instructors.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Malter, Navy Medicine Training Support Center/Hospital Corpsman Basic Program instructor, said Osei was as an inspiration to students and instructors at METC who knew him.
“His motivation and dedication have been infectious,” Malter said. “Seaman Osei has been a very diligent student, very hard-working, especially when you notice the language barrier there. He’s very forthcoming with his questions. He obviously had a lot of medical knowledge prior to coming here. He’s been able to utilize that during his corpsman training.”
Osei was a solid student at METC, graduating with a 90 GPA. He said his prior experience as a registered nurse in Ghana and his educational background, he has a college degree, helped him to overcome the language barrier and in understanding medical concepts taught to him at METC. In addition, he said his college education prepared him for the fast-paced, intensive learning environment at METC, particularly in studying for exams.
He said the students and his lead instructors at METC, including Chief Petty Officer Nija Shaw, Petty Officer 1st Class John-Ross McCarthy and Malter, were very supportive of him during his time at the medical training campus.
“They have been very, very helpful, especially (Petty Officer 2nd Class) Malter,” Osei said. “(Petty Officer 2nd Class) Malter has been inspiring to me. He always wanted to know about me and encouraged me. Anytime I had any issue and go to him for help, he was willing to help.”
Osei is studying to become a medical laboratory technician so that he can learn more about infectious diseases, such as cholera and malaria, which are the main cause of death in his native Ghana. By learning about infectious diseases, Osei hopes to prevent the instances of those diseases from occurring through education efforts with people in Ghana and in other developing countries.
After his graduation from METC, Osei will report to his first duty station at Naval Branch Health Clinic, Naval Base Coronado, Cailifornia. Osei’s long-term goal is to attain the rank of chief in the Navy.
What made his graduation from METC even more special is that his wife and father, who traveled from Ghana, were able to attend the Jan. 28 graduation ceremony.
Osei is hoping his story will serve as an inspiration to immigrants who want to don the uniform of the U.S. military.
“I hope that many people who are also interested in becoming military members from my country will take inspiration from me so that they don’t give up hope,” he said.
Malter said he expects Osei to have a very successful career in the Navy.
“He’s going to go forth and do amazing things as a hospital corpsman,” Malter said. “We have no doubt in our mind he will succeed in anything he attempts in his Navy career and in life.”