Local student purues dreams of being a paramedic with Navy
When he was a little boy, Jeff Hagins wanted to be a
paramedic.
Or maybe a fireman
… little boys often change their minds about what they want to
be when they grow up.
Local student purues dreams of being a paramedic with Navy
When he was a little boy, Jeff Hagins wanted to be a paramedic.
Or maybe a fireman … little boys often change their minds about what they want to be when they grow up.
But as he got older, Hagins decided he’d stick with being a paramedic, and today, the 18-year old 2007 San Benito High School graduate is on his way to fulfilling that lifelong desire – but not where most would think.
Earlier this week, Hagins left family and friends behind for a new life in the military. Hagins joined the U.S. Navy, signing up to be a medical corpsman, and is now at boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill., taking a good, hard look at what his future may hold.
“I’m really looking forward to the adventure, and the opportunities, I will have,” Hagins said. “If you look at some of the kids who graduated this year, a lot will stay here and not do anything. But for those of us who signed up [for a military career], you get the chance to see the world. It’s a great opportunity.”
Hagins will spend the next eight weeks at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, learning basic military skills. He will spend an additional 14 weeks receiving instruction in various medical techniques, such as treating injuries, giving emergency treatment and administering medications.
“We are not considered surgeons or doctors,” he said. “We are more like paramedics, but we receive more advanced training as well as some minor surgical skills, like taking out an inflamed appendix, and we’ll also learn battlefield medicine.”
After he completes that course, Hagins will be stationed in San Diego with a U.S. Marine Corps unit, providing the unit with medical support.
“The Marines don’t have their own medical support, so they use the Navy,” Hagins said. “But the Marines are the very best that America has to offer, and I felt that the best way for me to help them is to be able to offer them the best medical support I can.”
Military life is nothing new to the Hagins family – both Hagins’ paternal and maternal grandfathers served, one on a submarine in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, and the other attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis and became a carrier flier. He has an aunt who is a reserve captain in the Navy who left the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. just minutes before an airplane crashed into the building on 9/11.
“The military has always played a big part in our lives,” Hagins said. “I’ve always thought it would be something I would like to do.”
While at San Benito, Hagins participated in the high school’s ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) program, which he says helped him realize his career choice was the right one.
“ROTC solidified the idea for me,” he said. “It is kind of like my dream job, I guess.”
During his time in the ROTC, Hagins learned not only some basic military drills, but military history, as well.
“We did a lot of drills, and we wore uniforms, but we also studied democracy and citizenship, and learned a lot of leadership skills that will be important now that we are out of high school,” he said. “We learned a lot of things we will be able to take away with us. It also helps financially, because completing the program gives you a bump in your pay scale.”
Hagins said he was sorry to see San Benito eliminate the ROTC program.
“I think it was a mistake to get rid of it,” he said. “It might have been a small program, maybe just 100 or so kids were in it, but it is so important. ROTC can show you how to be in charge of your life, how to take care of yourself.”
It is that ability to take care of himself that provides Hagins with the confidence needed to pursue a military career during wartime. As the Iraq War continues with no end in sight, Hagins said he realizes there is a very real possibility of being sent overseas.
“Joining the military means taking the calculated risk that you might get sent away,” he said. “The training they give you provides you with the skills you’ll need to survive. Then there is the risk that even with all the training, you’ll go out on a patrol and that might be the day you get hurt. But I’m not that worried.”
One person trying hard not to think about Hagins’ being sent to war is his mother, Julie.
“I’m trying hard to not let the state of the war get to me,” she said. “What helps is that Jeff tells me that he’ll be involved in the noblest of professions, and I think that is true. So many people have come up to me and asked me to tell my son thank you. Sometimes, though, the first thing some will say is ‘gosh, I hope he comes back alive.’ But it’s not like he’ll go right away.”
Julie Hagins said she thought her son would choose a military career.
“When Jeff was 4 years old, we were back east, visiting my sister,” she said. “I took a picture of Jeff sitting on the steps in front of the academy at Annapolis, as the cadets were all walking out behind him. I just had a feeling. He’s always had a smile on his face and has always been a very confident person. I know he’s committed and that he knows what he is doing.”
Hagins spent his last weekend as a civilian at family parties and barbecues, saying good-bye to his parents and his little brother, Joe. Although it was a time of celebration, there couldn’t help but be some sadness, as well.
“It’s a little bit of a different feel when your child goes into the military,” Julie Hagins said. “For other parents whose children are going off to college, they can say ‘our kids are just a few hours away.’ I’m feeling a little of the empty nest syndrome. It’s bittersweet. My heart feels like it is breaking but at the same time it is just swelling with pride.”
“I feel kind of sad, but I know he’s wanted to do this all his life,” Joe, Hagins’ 12-year old brother, said. “I’m really proud of him. I think he’ll do really good. I can’t wait to go see his graduation.”
Hagins said saying good-bye was hard for him, as well, but he plans to keep in touch through letters and e-mails.
“I’ll miss my family and friends…I have friends that I’ve known for a long time that maybe I’ve gone two weeks without seeing, but now it’s going to be a long time before I see anyone again,” he said. “But the Navy lets you keep in touch. You have e-mail, and I can request time off. I know that maybe I won’t be home for the holidays; it will be the first time I haven’t had Thanksgiving with my family. But it’s not like I won’t ever see anyone again. It’s just going to be different.”
Hagins has signed on for a five-year stint, three in the reserves, and thanks in part to his ROTC classes, the Montgomery G.I. Bill and the Navy College Fund, has $90,000 in college money waiting for him. Because he will be doing advanced medical training while in the service, Hagins can also participate in programs strictly for medical personnel, which allow him to work towards his Bachelor’s degree while still enrolled in the military. A career as a paramedic once his naval career is over is a possibility, although Hagins said he is not exactly sure when that will be.
“What’s great about the college money is that I can use some while I’m in, or I have up to 10 years after I get out,” he said. “But I’ve pretty much thought that if I’m not in the Navy for life, it will be a pretty long time. Nationwide, less than 1 percent of the entire population is serving in the military, defending the other 99 percent. I thought that statistic was a little crazy.”
