Sailor Receives Service Medal for Outstanding Volunteer Efforts

“The week I got to Hawaii, I was asked to volunteer with Mālama Pu`uloa and I really got into it and continued volunteering with their bike path clean-ups. It felt really good to give back to the community,” Carrillo said.

Mālama Pu`uloa is the primary program of Hui o Ho`ohuna, a nonprofit organization working to restore Pu`uloa (Pearl Harbor). Carrillo volunteered more than 20 hours clearing mangrove and other debris from the mouth of Pearl Harbor.

For his service to the community, Carrillo recently received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for outstanding public service. From June 2020 to December 2023, he spent 223 off-duty hours volunteering on community beautification projects, youth sports, and historic remembrance ceremonies.

“I commend you for your admirable volunteer work and many contributions throughout your service to the local communities,” said Rear Adm. Stephen Barnett, Navy Region Hawaii commander, during the medal presentation on Aug. 7. “Your dedication and distinctive accomplishments as a volunteer reflected credit upon yourself and the United States Navy.”

In addition to his volunteer work with Mālama Pu`uloa, Carrillo coached volleyball and soccer for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Youth Sports at Navy Region Hawaii; supported more than 150 athletes involved in the Special Olympics Winter Classic and the Wounded Warrior Foundation; helped with the 82nd Pearl Harbor commemoration; and volunteered with the Armed Services YMCA Food Bank. Before his move to Hawaii, Carrillo helped beautify the Ivy Green Cemetery and Illahee State Park in Bremerton, Washington, where he was previously stationed.

Carrillo was recognized for exemplifying unwavering dedication, enhancing the well-being of numerous individuals, strengthening community bonds, and embodying the Navy's core values of honor, courage, and commitment.

Before enlisting in the Navy in 2015, Carrillo was an assistant coach with Special Olympics. “My favorite part about volunteering with these organizations are the kids and being able to be someone they can look up to,” he said. “It is fun to see them excited and involved in sports.”

Carrillo encourages everyone to volunteer. “There are so many opportunities for volunteer work. Much of the work does not even feel like work, it’s fun and you feel like part of the community,” he added. Carrillo plans on continuing his volunteer work for the ASYMCA and will coach MWR Youth Sports volleyball in the fall.