Not long after Jason Pippenger graduated from Bradley Central High School in 2003, his father, who had just arrived home from work after working outside all day during a particularly hot summer, was not pleased when he found Jason relaxing on the couch in their air-conditioned home.
“I had just quit a job,” Pippenger, 40, told the Cleveland Daily Banner during a phone interview. “I was looking for another, and I was at home.”
Pippenger said his father, a City of Cleveland employee, was not in a great mood after toiling all day under the blazing sun.
“He told me that I needed to get a job and get out of the house,” Jason said.
The next day, Pippenger, the son of John and Becky Pippenger and the late Darlene Tramel, visited the U.S. Navy’s recruiting office and signed up.
“That’s how it all started,” he said.
Last month, Pippenger — a hospital corpsman with the rank of chief petty officer — retired after 21 years of service that included deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, where the navy conducted anti-piracy operations.
Pippenger, who now resides in Pollocksville, North Carolina, also recently got engaged to Denise Burgess.
He has three children: Luca, 17, Julionna, 15, and Gabriella, 9. His fiancée has a son, Asthon, who is 17.
“My father always says he wanted me to get a job, but he didn’t want me to move away for a job,” Pippenger quipped.
His extensive training and experience recently landed him a job with North American Rescue, a company that provides medical products to the military, federal agencies, civilian law enforcement and EMS.
“I will be working with them under their simulation department, teaching advanced medical classes and trauma simulation courses,” he said.
Pippenger said serving in the armed forces taught him he can “pretty much do anything that is set out in front of me.”
“There’s a lot of challenging tasks or deployments that get put in front of you,” he said. “Beforehand, I probably doubted myself in some areas of my life, and then during the military, I learned that you put your mind to it and you can achieve it. You can make it happen.”
Pippenger said hospital corpsmen provide health care support to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
“We worked with doctors and helped treat patients,” he said. “The Marine Corps has hospital corpsmen that are assigned to them and deploy with them and do all their emergency care and field medicine that they may need.”
During his deployments, Pippenger saw how people in other areas of the world lived, where daily conditions are often desperate even during peaceful conditions.
“They’re living in houses that may not have windows or doors on them,” he said. “We have it really easy.”
Although his job was to provide medical care to members of the U.S. military, Pippenger said the military’s trauma centers also helped local nationals who didn’t have healthcare. He said the effort helped build goodwill.
His many service awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Overseas Service Ribbon and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
Looking back at his two-decade career in the navy, Pippenger said he recommends young men and women consider serving in the armed forces, where they can serve their country while also learning marketable skills.
“Even if it’s a one-contract term of four or five years, or if you join with the intent to retire, it’s definitely an experience,” he said. “Take the step; give it a try.”
He said those who served before him helped pave the way for his success.
“Ultimately, my career is based off the veterans that have gone before me,” he said. “And I appreciate everyone, all the veterans, for that.”