‘Unlike Anything You’ll Ever Do in Life’.
“What if I became part of the population that I wanted to work with?”
This notion occurred to Samantha Cordova (SPH’17) shortly after she began the MPH program in fall 2016. A few weeks into the semester, Cordova attended a presentation at school by David Villarroel, a United States Army medical service corps officer and a fellow SPH alum. She found his words and life story to be inspiring and in alignment with her own professional goals.
And so, a few months after graduating, Cordova joined the Army Reserves in fall 2017 to become a preventive medicine specialist in the Army Medical Service Corps.
“I always wanted to work in public health and health care, and I chose the army because it has a plethora of job opportunities in the healthcare field that interest me,” says Cordova, who had previously considered a career with the VA. “It just felt like it was meant to be.”
Cordova is also from a military family: Her grandfather served in the National Guard, her father in the Navy, and her uncle in the Marines—all three during the Vietnam War.
Cordova is currently stationed at joint military base Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as she completes her advanced individual training (AIT) for the preventive medicine specialist position, which entails monitoring, regulating, inspecting and promoting health awareness to various units throughout the Army. She also endured 10 weeks of basic combat training last summer, which she describes as “physically, mentally, and emotionally draining, but rewarding.”
Cordova talked about her training experiences, growth in the army, and her future plans in public health.
Can you describe the responsibilities of a preventive medicine specialist in the Army?
I do a lot of work to help prevent disease outbreaks, health hazards, and health risks for our armed forces when they are deployed or living on base. I educate troops and commanders on preventive measures for disease, illness, and injury prevention, as well as exposures to occupational and environmental health risks and threats. I also conduct laboratory testing procedures, surveillance, and inspections related to food, water, air, soil, environmental health, and safety controls.
After analyzing environments, I recommend whether the environment is safe for soldiers. That’s a huge responsibility, because many deaths are non combat-related and can be prevented. Historically, many troops suffer from disease, infections, and environmental threats such as extreme weather, toxic chemical contaminations, and lack of proper sanitation resources. It’s great coming in with an MPH, because I’ve discussed these concepts in classes, but when you talk about an epidemic in the military world, it’s on a whole different scale. You have to think a lot differently, and I love that challenge.
Preventive medicine wasn’t really thought about when people went to war. They didn’t think about public health for military personnel. When veterans were deployed in combat zones, many would come back and have physical, mental or respiratory issues and there wasn’t enough environmental research done in the areas where veterans were deployed to determine the cause for their health issues later on. So the army decided that they needed to employ trained preventive medicine personnel to document and analyze these areas before people were stationed there. Environmental factors could have detrimental effects on their health 20 to 40 years later. I’ve had family members suffer form mental and physical health issues later on in life after serving overseas, but there was never enough research documentation from the areas they were stationed that could have contributed to their health conditions today. So my job is really crucial in making sure we have records of surveillance on what’s actually out there before we put people out on the front lines. Prevention on any scale is important to me.
What was basic combat training like?
It was unlike anything you’ll ever do in life. It breaks you down to build you back up. No one is there holding your hand or telling you “you can do it”—you just have to be very good at motivating yourself, following directions, and listening to your leaders.
I think the most challenging and rewarding thing was learning how to work with such a diverse team. People come from all different backgrounds, classes, age groups, education levels, and from all over the country. It’s been so rewarding to see people from all of these different lifestyles come together to share a mission and share a purpose. We all have this deep love and value for our country and what it offers us, and all of these people are here because they want the best for their families, country, communities, and futures. When you want to give up, you have to remember why you’re here.
Did your unit include many other female recruits?
In my platoon, we started off with 12 females, and only 7 of us graduated along with 45 males. Females and males left for various reasons in training. A lot of people get injured, so they get held back in training and then go home, or some people get in trouble for disciplinary reasons, or get transferred to different companies because they can’t work as a team and need more time to develop that discipline.
We’re starting to see females obtain higher leadership positions, just like in our government, which is awesome. The army doesn’t see color or sex or religion or background. It sees green—green uniforms. If you put in the time, work, effort, and dedication, that’s what matters. They’re changing the physical standards to be more equal for men and women. So I feel like the army is progressing in equal opportunity efforts.
Have you bonded with fellow recruits?
Yes—you build a camaraderie with people that is an experience you can’t really share with anyone else. I can tell people what I’ve been through, but unless you’ve done it, you don’t really understand. Luckily, I had a supportive class in AIT, and my roommate has trained with me since basic training. There’s a lot of physical demands we have to go through, and it takes a mental toll. It’s great to have gone through that with someone. I’m grateful to have developed really good relationships with people from all over the country.
What are your plans for the future, with regard to the Army and your public health career?
One benefit of serving in the Army Reserves is that I have the best of both worlds—I can have a full-time civilian job and complete drill sessions with my unit one weekend a month. Once I finish my advanced individual training, I plan to drill with a unit closer to home in Colorado. I’d like to work in the public or government sector, and I’m interested in doing policy or prevention work for the VA in Colorado, because the veteran population is true to my heart. In the near future, I also plan to return to Fort Sam Houston to direct commission as an officer in the Medical Service Corps. My long-term goal is to go back to school to get my doctorate in public health. I would love to give back to the public health profession and teach as a professor.
And if I have to be deployed overseas for a mission, I will go where I’m called.