Noe Gonzalez – Madera, CA.
My story of leadership revolves around my profession and the opportunities I 
have had to guide and lead in critical moments in my career. In my professional life I have held the title of Fireman, EMT, United States Marine, Paramedic, California Highway Patrol Officer, and Flight Officer Paramedic on a helicopter for California Highway Patrol. These paths have placed me behind many great and some not so great leaders, all of which I learned from. These paths also thrusted me into situations where I was forced to lead or sink. I learned to lead from the front, provide guidance and to have passion in what I do.
In 2010 I joined the United States Marine Corps where my first mentors were the feared Marine Corps Drill Instructors. These men instilled in us instant obedience to orders, to not hesitate, but go. They did this by simply leading from the front.
After a few short years in the Corps I became a Fire Power Control Team Chief. I was in charge of a 5 man team of Marines able to jump behind enemy lines and coordinate artillery, mortar, naval and rocket fires and well as coordinate close air support for multiple nations. I had learned that to be successful in leading a team, I needed the Marines to not hesitate to follow me and not hesitate to go where I’d ask them to go. I began to build this trust by leading from the front. If we were carrying heavy gear, I’d carry the heavier pack instead of passing it to the new guy as some leaders do. If we had fire watch at night, I’d schedule the worst hours for me so they could sleep. If we had to clean a building after training I’d be there with them lending a hand. These small gestures instilled trust in my Marines where they knew I wouldn’t ask them to do anything I wouldn’t do. This in turned helped me because when things needed to get done, they got them done.
I became a California Highway Patrol officer in 2017 and was sent to go work in Oakland Ca right out of the academy. As a newly graduated patrol officer you have to go through phases of training on the road with a Field Training Officer, before you are allowed to go on your own. With Oakland being a tough city to work in due to the crime rate, our FTO’s generally were mean and salty. One particular Officer was mean and sarcastic and expected me to learn on the fly or sink. His method of teaching was meant to place me in a situation, watch to see if I failed then talk about it later. He never provided guidance in the moment, which there were many times I needed it. Then one day the script changed. I was 27 years old at this point and had already been a fireman and paramedic for 8 years. He was 23 and had only been on the department for a little over 2 years (blind leading the blind). We responded to a call of a vehicle broken down towards the end of our shift, and to our shock, as we approached the scene, we saw it was not a vehicle broken down, it was a three vehicle collision, with bodies lying everywhere on the highway, vehicles all over the lanes of traffic and people screaming for help. This officer froze. Most Officers have basic medical skills, but this required a lot more than that, and due to heavy traffic conditions, we knew ambulances weren’t going to be with us for a long time. After assessing the scene, we went to the back of the patrol car to get our medical supplies, I looked at him and told him, “hey it’s no big deal, I am a paramedic (I’d never told him) I’ve done this a few times before.” I handed him gloves and we were off. I guided him and showed him how to bandage facial wounds while I checked on the children, then guided him in doing CPR when a patient went into cardiac arrest. In total 2 patients passed away, and this is still one of the worst calls I’ve been on, but I know that by providing that small guidance to him and not letting him sink, that we saved the lives of the other 5 critically injured people that day.
As a road patrol officer, I used this same concept in training 9 other trainees and in lead them to have a successful career.
In 2014, while I was still working on an ambulance, I did a fly along with the CHP helicopter. I immediately knew what I wanted to do with my life. I became obsessed and passionate with becoming one of the few Flight Officer Paramedics for the highway patrol. I completed my schooling and immediately applied with the department. After getting into the academy I began to visit the air operations unit on a monthly basis, sacrificing valuable family time to make sure they knew I was the person they wanted. Given the chance to pick an office I chose Oakland, because I believed going to the hardest office to work at in the state would give me a leg up. I continued training with the air operations unit monthly and taking time off in Oakland to go train with them. This was done out of passion and commitment to get to where I wanted to be. 7 years later I interviewed with 5 other Officers. The interviewer told me I got the job because they saw the passion I had for the job and the work I had put in to get to that point. Now I have the best job in the world, doing rescues in the Sierra Nevada’s including Yosemite and helping others in need during medical aid calls while still acting as an Law Enforcement Officer, assisting officers on the ground with air support. I get to provide a leadership role over chaotic scenes and provide a sense of calmness when situations get rough.
Sept. 2022