Hospital Corpsman Second Class Xihang Cong, a naturalized American citizen, continues to work every day in the Navy Reserve to achieve the phenomenal success she could only dream about as a teenager who settled in Milton, Florida with her mother and step-father.

Cong is a 2021 graduate of Pace High School, who enlisted in the United States Navy under a Training and Administration of the Reserves (TAR) contract, providing full-time support to the Navy Reserve. She currently serves as the Assistant Leading Petty Officer of Navy Reserve Center (NRC) Gulfport’s medical department. She is responsible for the medical and dental readiness of the 300 Selected Reserve Sailors assigned to 15 reserve units who drill in Gulfport.

Originally born and raised in Jilin, China by her grandparents, she credits her success to the value of a strong work ethic instilled at a young age by her native culture, which was uniquely blended with an American sense of independence, self-sufficiency, and persistence when she immigrated as a young woman.

Reflecting on her adolescence, Cong discussed her challenges in assimilating, “My mom and my stepdad had no idea how to counsel me on how to fit into my new school or what steps to take to pursue a new career. I had to rely on myself, but I listened to and observed others and learned a lot from my peers and teachers at school.”

Petty Officer Cong settled in Milton, Florida because her stepfather, a veteran of the British Royal Navy, works as a defense contractor servicing the maintenance requirements of the aviation squadrons in Naval Air Station Whiting Field. She was inspired to participate in the Pace High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and her JROTC unit competed in and won multiple drill competitions in the Gulf Coast. Discipline was instilled in her from a young age, later inspiring her to enlist as a hospital corpsman with aspirations to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She currently attends Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where she is earning her associates degree.

Her educational background serves her well in the fast-paced and chaotic environment of a typical drill weekend at NRC Gulfport. Gulfport is the homeport of the Atlantic Seabees, including the Seventh Naval Construction Regiment and Naval Construction Battalions Fourteen and Two Seven. Reserve Seabees comprise approximately one third of the Navy Reserve Center’s constituency, and Cong leads her department in ensuring all Sailors in these units maintain individual medical readiness as a prerequisite for mobilization readiness to remote locations world-wide.

Since her accession in 2022, she has planned four Reserve Health Readiness Program events and Navy medical provider support for over 30 drill weekends to ensure her Sailors have access to medical care at all times. She and her team have successfully screened over 50 individual augmentees for mobilization and her department has earned phenomenal marks in two consecutive mass activation exercises.

Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, chief of the Navy Reserve and commander, Navy Reserve Force, highlights the importance of posturing the Reserve Force for warfighting, “Our Sailors, operational units, and readiness units of action are our weapons system. We are prepared for the mission, ready to fight and win decisively on Day One. Our Training and Administration of the Reserves (TAR) community will ensure our Navy Reserve Activities (NRA)…are able to mobilize the entire Force within 30 days. NRA leaders will maintain 80% warfighting readiness across the Force.”

To that end, Cong’s diligent efforts and leadership have led Navy Reserve Center Gulfport to achieve an astounding 96% Total Force medical readiness for consecutive years. Cong learned very quickly in this fast-paced environment and discussed her proudest accomplishment as having achieved the rank of petty officer second class in less than three years of service. As a newly minted second class petty officer, Cong believes in the power of mentorship and has now embraced her role in training both active and reserve component junior Sailors.

Cong still remembers her hometown after her meteoric rise, attributing her success to the welcoming atmosphere at her high school and JROTC unit. Specifically, she wants to recognize her English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, Mrs. Colvin Kirti, for counseling her on how to achieve her goals by breaking them down into smaller and achievable action steps.

Having served her career dedicated to the readiness of her reserve Sailors, Petty Officer Cong discussed her thoughts on the Navy Reserve’s Strategic Advantage, “The reserve Sailors are only here for two days of the month. We [the staff] have to track and be ready to administer exams and vaccinations. It is our responsibility to help them out because they have full time (civilian) jobs.”

Cong’s story is the embodiment of the American dream. She is an excellent example of a citizen Sailor who has a passion for serving her new country while balancing the demands of off-duty education to further accelerate her career. Now seeing her new proteges excelling and emulating her work ethic, she is proud to give back to the country and the Navy who has given so much to her. She concluded, “It is an honor.”