Gustavo Guiterrez CRNA earned his Commission of Lieutenant in the U. S. Army in 1996, and had spent his previous years of enlistment attending Officer Candidate School, earning his Parachutist Medal and Air Assault Medal and taking the Sapper Leader Course at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Guiterrez received his combat trauma medical training in the military, and achieved a level of expertise which enabled him to instruct other doctors, nurses and medics in procedures. Along the way, Guiterrez earned the Army’s Commendation Medal, a military decoration presented for acts of heroism or meritorious service. The Army’s Commendation Medal began as a service ribbon in 1943. The Commendation Ribbons were authorized as full-fledged medals in 1960. The Army Commendation Medal is awarded to any member of the U.S. Army who has distinguished him or herself through an act of heroism, an extraordinary achievement or by a significant meritorious service background which has been of benefit to a friendly nation and to the United States. The Army Commendation Medal may be awarded to an American or to foreign military personnel of Colonel rank or below. An officer of the grade of Colonel or higher must approve of the award. The medallion displays an American bald eagle with wings spread grasping three crossed arrows in its talons.
Gustavo Guiterrez CRNA, a commissioned Lieutenant in the United States Army and a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Anesthesiologist, covered himself with glory in the U.S. military, earning various medals and commendations as he excelled in the Army’s courses in leadership, skills and trainings. The Achievement Medal was earned by Guiterrez, among others. The Achievement Medal is a military decoration given by different branches of the Armed Forces as a way to recognize the important achievements of junior officers and enlisted personnel. Guiterrez earned the Achievement Medal prior to his Lieutenant’s Commission, making it the appropriate recognition for his rank at the time. Guiterrez received the award on the recommendation of his local commander, who recognized the quest for perfection which has driven Guiterrez for most of his life.
Gustavo Gutierrez CRNA immediately attended Officer Candidate School upon his early graduation at 17 from high school in Downey, California. Upon his enlistment in the United States Army, for which Guiterrez took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test which measures Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension and Mathematics Knowledge. Guiterrez also attended Sapper Leader training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, and received the trauma medic training which prepared him for his later education in anesthesiology. Guiterrez was recognized for superior contributions through his Air Assault Medal, his Parachutists Medal, his National Defense Ribbon, Humanitarian Medal and Overseas Training Medal, as well as his Achievement Medal prior to his commission, and his Commendation Medal after he had been commissioned as a Lieutenant.
