Every Sailor has a story for why they joined the Navy and what inspires them to be in the service. For one Sailor aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), it is a family affair.

Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Gabriel Santillan enlisted after growing up hearing stories from both his mother and father, who is a retired boatswain.

“A big influence in joining the Navy was my parents talking about their experiences with the military and how they enjoyed it,” said Gabriel Santillan. “On one hand I had my mom, who served five years and did it for college. On the other I have my father, who did 25 years and made it a career. They said whether it’s for a career or not, serving will benefit me in more ways than one and that I wouldn’t regret it.”

After telling old naval stories to their son, Santillan’s parents had assumed he may have been persuaded to go down a different career path. They soon realized he honed in on their positive experiences and life lessons.

“I was initially surprised by his decision to enlist in the United States Navy,” said Chief Warrant Officer (Ret.) Javier Santillan, his father. “I've shared numerous experiences with my son about my tours while on active duty and I assumed after describing the intense training cycles and scheduled deployments, he would be discouraged to enlist. Instead he internalized my personal advice and lessons learned, pushing forward to join the United States Navy. I'm extremely proud about his decision to enlist, as most people aren't willing or able to make the sacrifices required, in order to be successful in such a structured work environment.”

These experiences helped to guide Santillan through boot camp and aboard the New York while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

“Before I even left for boot camp, he informed me about the challenges and how I would be pushed,” said Gabriel. “He talked about his experiences and things he did and why he loved being a Boatswain’s Mate.”

The same passion for the boatswain rate that the senior Santillan had is already evident in his son.

“I fell in love with the high-risk evolutions and the amount of teamwork it took to make it,” said Gabriel. “It’s not just one person who makes a small boat evolution successful, it’s not a single person who allows a completion of cargo transfer or fuel, and it’s not one person who makes well deck operations. It’s every person from the phone talker to the petty officer in charge and everything in between. It’s the people you tease, joke with, laugh with, eat with, learn from, and fight with. It’s the people who wake up before the sun and sometimes stay up well into the night with. It’s the people you struggle with, but you struggle together. The evolution might be the thing that pulls people to be a boatswain’s mate, but it’s the people you meet that make you want to stay.”

Gabriel moved quickly through the ranks from boatswain’s mate seaman to being recently meritoriously advanced to second class petty officer by the command. 

“Santillan came onboard as a seaman who was motivated and willing to learn,” said Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Daniel Lopez, New York’s deck department leading petty officer. “Since then he has done nothing but impress with his strong work ethic and electric attitude. He is a complete superstar in deck department.”

Even though Gabriel has already made great strides in his Navy career, he still has an ambitious goal set for himself.

“I am trying to leave New York as a first class petty officer,” said Gabriel Santillan. “After that, I would like to follow in the footsteps of my father and make chief petty officer and one day become a boatswain.”

Gabriel is not the only one who hopes becoming a boatswain is in his future.

“He is the type of Sailor his peers emulate,” said Lopez. “He shines amongst any group he is in. He trains, helps, and pushes everyone around him to excel. Santillan has a world of opportunity ahead of him, I've spoken to him about officer programs, but he definitely wants to put on chief. I can see him as a boatswain someday.”

Whether aboard New York or back at home, Gabriel’s parents and his shipmates agree that they are proud of his accomplishments.

“I want him to know that he is my pride and joy,” said Javier Santillan. “I couldn't be more proud of the man he's become and I'm excited about what's yet to come both on a personal and professional level. I want him to know that I love him and often brag to my former shipmates about his accomplishments. Keep pressing forward son: The sky is the limit.”

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/ or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.

For more news from USS New York (LPD 21), visit http://www.navy.mil/ or http://www.facebook.com/ussnewyorklpd21/?refequalsts/