Association of Naval Services Officers

A 501c3 nonprofit supporting Latinos/Hispanics of all ranks in the U.S. Sea Services!

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Norfolk, VA Chapter Contacts

Chapter Leadership Information

Chapter Name & Year EstablishedRADM José M. Cabanillas, USN2006
PresidentCAPT Javier Medina, USN, Ph. D. norfolkva@ansomil.org
Vice PresidentAS1 Zabdiel E. Dueño Agosto, USNnorfolkva@ansomil.org
SecretaryPS1 Silvia Mantero, USNnorfolkva@ansomil.org
TreasurerVACANTnorfolkva@ansomil.org
Public Affairs OfficerENS Christian Acevedo-Pérez, USCGnorfolkva@ansomil.org
ChaplainLCDR Michael Monroig, USN
Navy Senior Enlisted LeaderCWO2 Yandi Hernandez, USN
Coast Guard Senior Enlisted LeaderHS1 Jackie Aycardi, USCG
Marine Corps Senior Enlisted LeaderVACANT
Senior Retired Coast Guard Officer PresentRear Admiral Joseph “Pepe” Castillo, USCG, Ret.
Senior Retired Navy Officer PresentRear Admiral George “Rico” Mayer, USN, Ret.
NAVY SOPARear Admiral Carlos “Los” Sardiello, USN, Director, Joint/Fleet Operations, U.S. Fleet Forces Command
Major Commanders PresentCAPT George Robert Aguilar, USN, Commanding Officer, USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77)
CAPT Milciades “Tony” Then, USN, Deputy Commodore, Destroyer Squadron TWENTY TWO
Commanding Officers PresentCAPT Santico “Tico” Valenzuela, USN, Commanding Officer, HELICOPTER SEA COMBAT SQUADRON TWO (HSC 2)
CDR Luis A. González, USN, Commanding Officer, USS BULKELEY (DDG 84)
CDR Carlos Otero, USN, Commanding Officer, USS NEW MEXICO (SSN 779)
Notable Officers PresentCAPT Raul Acevedo, USN, Executive Officer, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74)
CDR Kristel O’Cañas, USN, Prospective Reactor Officer, USS GERALD R. FORD (CVN 78)
CDR Jason Gonzalez, USN, First Lieutenant, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74)
Command Master Chiefs PresentCMDCM Rafael Barney, USN, Command Master Chief, USS ARLEIGH BURKE (DDG 51)
Notable Senior Enlisted PresentNCCM Raymond Martinez, USN, U.S. Fleet Forces Career Counselor

If you are aware of or think someone else should be added to this list, please send an email to the Chapter President so that we can ensure the local role models are properly accounted for here!

Happy Birthday America!

ANSO Familia!

We wish you and your families a very happy and safe 4th of July. And to all our brothers and sisters on duty today and everyday, thank you for keeping the watch. Happy Independence Day!

ANSO President 2023 ERS Message

CAPT Roy Love, USN (Ret) invites everyone to the upcoming Eastern Region Symposium. Participation can be in person or virtually. Register today!

CAPT Roy Love, USN (Ret) invites everyone to the upcoming Eastern Region Symposium. Participation can be in person or virtually. Register today!

Memorial Day 2023 / May 2023 Message

Memorial Day 2023 / En Familia, May 2023

As we approach Memorial Day and take time to remember and honor service members who sacrificed their lives to defend our rights and freedoms, the Association of Naval Services Officers invites members and associates to pause, offer reverence, and reflect on their legacy. The memory of Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Soldiers, and Airmen who served our country until the end is still alive. There are many lessons to learn from each of them.

Historically, Memorial Day goes back to the years after the Civil War. On 5 May 1868, General John A. Logan released General Order No. 11 and provided guidance on the observance. The order states: “The 30th of May, 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.” Opportunities to decorate our fallen heroes’ gravesites are available around the world. The most traditional is decorating with flowers. However, others use flags, painted rocks, or coins as a remembrance. Symbols of this strong bond and connection are endless.

In the second paragraph of the Order, General Logan highlights the purpose of the observance, “We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tells us, for the purpose, among other things, ‘of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion.’ What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes?” By keeping their legacy alive, speaking their names, and bringing to our memories their honorable service, we preserve and strengthen the relationships that inspire us to keep serving.

While many cities, veteran organizations, and public entities put together special memorials to bring communities together in honor of our Service Members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. These observances provide a sacred space and time to connect with intentionality. Some Service Members and Veterans may prefer to pay their respects on their own, in private, in silence, and acknowledging the journey of grief and impact of the loss of a friend, a brother, or sister, in arms. Whether in public or private, through an organized event, or in your unique way, honor the legacy of those who have gone. Their lives never end, and their sacrifices are always remembered.

The invitation to sacrifice for someone else is a challenging proposal. Many qualify the worth of actions according to personal gains. Service and sacrifice shift the focus from self to the good of neighbors, communities, and nations. Running into service and sacrifice requires commitment and vision. Author and poet Charles Bukowski wrote a powerful poem about the meaning and purpose of sacrifice:

“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery-isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”

This legacy of service and sacrifice is what we honor on this Memorial Day and what serves as an inspiration to live a life dedicated to service and sacrifice.

Pause. Remember. Honor.

April 2023 Message

En Familia, April 2023

April and May celebrate the valuable contributions of military families. April is the month of the military child and May honors military spouses. Those in uniform and retirees know how much military families sacrifice for the nation. Military families make a difference daily by responding to a call they did not volunteer for and supporting their Service Members without fully understanding the complexities of military life.

The military lifestyle requires constant changes, increased adaptability, multiple moves, and high levels of flexibility. Resilience becomes an integral part of the heart of military families. Every set of orders generates uprooting and replanting cycles impacting homes, friends, hobbies, schools, and other activities. Military families find ways to remain fruitful through the challenges of deployments, exercises, long hours, training, and demanding lives. While the journey is full of requirements, military families find a way to move forward.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III recently released a plan to strengthen the well-being of military families and the U.S. military force. This plan described the following six lines of effort:

  • Universal prekindergarten at Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Congress is helping identify funding for this program.
  • Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts for Service Members. Dependent Care FSAs will partially alleviate financial pressure affecting Service Members with dependents.
  • New military parental leave benefits. The new parental leave benefits offer 12 weeks of paid, non-chargeable leave to Service Members welcoming a child through birth, adoption, or long-term foster care.
  • Improvements to the Exceptional Family Member Program. The DoD plans to make the EFM program work more effectively for military families.
  • Expanded spouse eligibility for My Career Advancement Account financial assistance. This helpful program will cover E-6 and O-3 military spouses in obtaining a license, certificate, or associate degree.
  • Portability and best practices for professional licenses. The DoD plans to keep advocating for military families holding professional licenses facing challenges in portability after moving while executing orders. The goal is to increase employment opportunities for military spouses after relocation.

ANSO joins in these military families’ observances. Part of our Latino/Hispanic heritage is the value of family. The most recent U.S. Census data highlights how 90% of Latino/Hispanic parents share meals frequently with their children (Mayol-Garcia, 2022). Family meals together increase positive youth outcomes and lead to improved family functioning. As Service Members from a Latino/Hispanic heritage, building lasting memories with our families becomes foundational. These are the times to share our values, discuss what gives meaning and purpose in life, and express the importance of sacrificial living as the basics of military life.  

En Familia, ANSO celebrates, honors, and appreciates military families!

Mayol-Garcia, Y. (October 11, 2022). 90% of Hispanic Parents Shared Frequent Meals With Their Children. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/10/family-dinner-more-common-hispanic-and-immigrant-families.html

From https://www.defense.gov/spotlights/military-spouse-appreciation/

2023 ANSO Eastern Region Symposium

The U.S. Coast Guard, under the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), is supporting an amazing opportunity for Coast Guard members to participate in the 2023 ANSO Eastern Region Symposium. This three-day event provides a forum for professional development, mentoring and networking. All employees (Active Duty, Reserves, Civilian and Auxiliary) are encouraged to attend!

Interested members must request attendance through their chain of command for unit-level approval and notify the USCG program manager by 12 May 2023. More information on this opportunity and how to submit a request for attendance can be found in the attached ALCOAST 155/23.

155-23_ALCOAST-ANSO-1Download

South Hialeah Elementary School Career Day

Continuing our commitment to our future generations, on April 6, Miami Chapter members, in partnership with Coast Guard members from Sector Miami Partners in Education (PIE), attended the 2023 South Hialeah Elementary School Career Day.

Miami Chapter and PIE members, including Enlisted and Officers, shared their personal stories, professional careers and answered questions from over 800 eager students within 42 classrooms. Overall the event was a tremendous success. Miami Chapter will continue building community relationships and post future opportunities in the events calendar. For more information on how to get involved in the Chapter, please email miamifl@ansomil.org.

CAPT Albert Angel, USN

My ANSO Story

My name is CAPT Albert Angel and I am a Naval Intelligence Officer currently assigned to the Office of the Naval Inspector General in Washington DC. My ANSO story is typical of many Hispanic Sailors serving in the Navy today. I am the son of immigrants and my parents were determined to build a better life the United States. My mother emigrated from Guadalajara, Mexico while my father emigrated from Bogota, Colombia. My sister and I were born in Southern California and spent the first few years of our youth in an immigrant community in Los Angeles, speaking mostly Spanish (our first language) until we moved to the suburbs five years later.  My father worked as a gardener until he retired and my mother barely graduated high school but they instilled in us the belief that we could accomplish anything we set our minds to and that education was the key to success. There were two events in my youth that shaped my desire to join the Navy. It all began in 1981 when I was 10 years old and met Mr. Rick Gribble, a former Naval Submariner who graduated from the US Naval Academy Class of ’75. He was my Sunday School teacher and would be the mentor who planted the seeds that would bloom into my lifelong Navy journey. Three years later, my parents were naturalized in the summer of 1984 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. I had never seen them as proud and happy as they were when they took their oaths of citizenship. My dad was a man of few words but he told me and my sister that America was the greatest country in the world and that you can never go wrong by serving her. I guess my sister and I took his words literally because she would retire as a Marine Corps Master Sergeant and I will reach 30 years commissioned service in June 2024.

During my career in the Navy I shied away from joining ANSO until I reached the rank of LCDR and was the Executive Officer at Navy Information Operations Command in San Antonio, Texas. It was during this time that ANSO was holding its annual symposium in San Antonio and a young LT “guilted” me into not only joining but becoming a life member as well. I had no excuse for not being active with ANSO since I was very familiar with ANSO since my days in Annapolis. I was the Vice President of the Latin American Studies Club and ANSO hosted a lunch for graduating Naval Academy seniors with the Hispanic Caucus in the Capitol. I wasn’t necessarily trying to avoid ANSO but kept putting off committing to the organization until the “right tame” came around. Since then I have embraced my ANSO membership and truly enjoy the mentoring opportunities, such as with the Naval Academy Latin American Studies Club, and I look forward to supporting the newly appointed ANSO leadership in the DC chapter. I have been blessed throughout my career with the opportunities to continue studying, traveling, and working with the finest Sailors in the world. My parents are proudest of my academic accomplishments and opportunities to travel since joining the Navy, especially since they didn’t have the same opportunities to see the world. During my career as a Surface Warfare Officer and Naval Intelligence Officer, I’ve completed eight deployments, including two ground deployments with NATO in Afghanistan and the United Nations in North Africa. I’ve traveled to 73 countries across six continents and even got to sail on the USS CONSTITUTION during 4th of July celebrations. The Navy has been very good to me and my family and ANSO is an opportunity to give back and share with the next generation the many opportunities to those who want to serve and succeed in our great Navy.

Biography

IT1 Karen Gonzalez, USNR

My ANSO Story

AT1 USN to IT1 USNR. ANSO was the missing link that helped me establish the Hispanic Sailor Association onboard USS Harry S. Truman. Their legitimacy helped us get the support we needed to obtain support from the chain of command. ANSO helped develop my leadership skills by giving me the opportunity to serve as Vice President for the Norfolk Chapter, and also gave me the unique opportunity of conducting an interview with Univision NY. This interview led to two more interviews during Hispanic Heritage Month. ANSO connected me with Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement (HISPA) and I was able to volunteer virtually as a mentor for Middle School students. I can’t speak enough great things about ANSO and they will forever hold a special part in my career.

LT Jonathan Hilzinger, USN

My ANSO Story

The following changed my life: MARADMIN 075/14, Subject – Association of Naval Services Officers West Coast Professional Development Seminar, dated 24 February 2014. On 24 February 2014, I was a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, gearing up to leave on my first combat deployment to Afghanistan in less than 90 days. I had never heard of ANSO before, and – to be honest – I did not think to look it up. The MARADMIN stated the Seminar served to “provide professional development and career management information to growing leaders for the future of our sea services. The event is a platform where officers and those planning to become officers will hear about developments in military leadership and technology, discuss best practices, learn from experienced leaders, and explore issues surrounding diversity in the workplace.”

From the day I stepped on the yellow footprints at Parris Island, I was determined to become an officer. I mean, have you seen the Marine Corps officer uniform? All joking aside, I was determined to become a great leader, one who could lead a diverse group of men and women reminiscent of my peers and childhood friends growing up in New York City. Officership? Conversations of diversity in the workplace? The seminar was to be held 2 business days later on 27 February, and I wasted no time in signing up.

Arriving at the seminar, I was thoroughly impressed by the crowd. Navy Captains, a Marine Corps General – certainly more rank that I had been accustomed to interacting with on a regular basis. Yet it was not the collar device that threw me aback. It was the first words spoken to kick off the event – “¡Bienvenidos a la Familia! ¡Adelante con ANSO!” It was at that moment I looked around and realized I was surrounded by service members who looked and spoke like me. What a pleasant surprise.

I had joined The Few, The Proud, but what my Marine Corps recruiter failed to mention was that as a Hispanic, I was part of the Fewer, and certainly Prouder. That day, for the first time in my military career, I felt very much at home amongst mi pueblo. Yet I also realized the work still left undone to represent our pueblo in the officer corps.

One of the many impressive personalities I met was LCDR Brian Alvara, a then-Navy Officer recruiter who would help me realize my dream of officership. LCDR Alvara was a “can-do” kind of guy (as most recruiters are), but what really struck me was his passion to help me achieve my dream as a Hispanic. He, and the rest of ANSO, were truly in my corner in a way not many other leaders were. And they all showed me that for us Hispanics and Latinos in the military, “¡Si se puede!” In less than 30 days, LCDR Alvara helped me put together my Navy Officer Candidate School application. On 13 November, just a couple days after returning from Afghanistan, LCDR Alvara called to congratulate me on my selection to the Naval Intelligence community.

Today, I serve as a Navy Lieutenant for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having thoroughly enjoyed various tours on carriers, amphibious assault ships, boots on ground with MARSOC and SEALs in Iraq, and instructor duty ashore. I have learned much about leadership along the way, and no-doubt have a lot more to learn. But as I reflect back on my career, I realize ANSO is where it all really started. ANSO taught me the value of leadership, excellence, and dedication to our comunidad, our familia. It showed me the power of professional networking and abundant resources to accomplish goals. Over the years, I have praised ANSO and spread the good word, but today, I am proud to serve as an active member of La Familia as the newest ANSO DC Chapter President.

So if there are any lessons to be learned from my ANSO story they are this:

  1. Read your MARADMIN/NAVADMINs every single day and share them with others
  2. Navy Officer Uniforms options provide more versatility than the single Marine Corps option
  3. ¡Sigue adelante con ANSO!

March 2023 Message

En Familia, March 2023

Women’s History Month began as a single week (the week of 7 March 1982, as authorized and requested by Congress), becoming a month-long observance in 1987. Year after year, this is a time to acknowledge and celebrate all the contributions of women to our nation and our world. Women throughout history have been a force of change and transformation. Most of that impact has been minimized or ignored during most periods of our recorded history. Every Women’s History Month observance is a new opportunity to change this narrative and share the real stories.

The theme for 2023 is Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories. The National Women’s History Alliance, the organization that advocated establishing this observance, picked that theme and explained how “From the earliest storytellers through pioneering journalist, our experiences have been captured by a wide variety of artists and teachers. These include authors, songwriters, scholars, playwrights, performers, and grandmothers throughout time.”

In previous En Familia messages, we have discussed the importance of sharing our stories and the impact of active listening in interpersonal interactions. Considering this theme, we celebrate all the women who have taken the creative and innovative role of communicating the stories and narratives of women worldwide with courage and determination. Many names come to mind, particularly powerful trailblazers that have changed our Sea Services in the last few decades.

Building platforms for women to continue sharing their stories and narratives for themselves and on behalf of other women is an effort that demands intentionality and advocacy. ANSO keeps developing spaces for these narratives, particularly Latinas’ stories, to be known, shared, and publicized. These stories provide encouragement and strength to new generations of leaders and visionaries.

During this month’s celebration, stop, connect, and listen to some of these stories. Many organizations offer platforms and spaces for voices to speak loudly and clearly. Stories transcend boundaries creating common languages of resilience and connection.

We celebrate all women and what they bring to the fight!

ANSO Women’s History Month 2023 YouTube Playlist