A team in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Infrastructure associate directorate came together to honor a colleague who received a promotion to Gunnery Sergeant by throwing him a surprise party.
Both veterans and non-military colleagues of Marine reservist Robert Carian surprised him on October 10 in the parking lot of the technical area where Carian and his colleagues support capital projects required to meet the nation’s plutonium pit production goals.
To make sure the celebration went off with all the pomp and flare of a military-style ceremony, Jason Loos, a project manager in Plutonium Infrastructure who spearheaded the celebration, and his colleagues borrowed a set of Armed Services flags that are displayed outside of Laboratory Director Thom Mason's office.
Nearly 40 employees stood at attention as Mark Anthony, the associate director for Plutonium Infrastructure and a retired Marine, joined Carian’s supervisor Delise Savior in presiding over the event.
"If we could have figured out how to get the Blue Angels there, we would have done that, too," said Loos, who left the Marine Corps in 1993.
A great achievement
The U.S. Marine Corps officially notified Carian about his promotion, effective Oct. 1, which he calls his "greatest achievement" since joining the Marines after high school in June 2006.
"If I didn't achieve anything else, I would be completely content," Carian said.
Celebrating Carian's promotion helps reenforce team unity, said Savior, a project-program director with the Pit Infrastructure group.
"Remember, a lot of people are behind you who back you up every day," Anthony told Carian. "We're a team, and it's very important that we succeed in our mission, and that you succeed in your endeavors every day."
"Our team is blessed to have you here," Savior told Carian during the ceremony. "We're proud to have been able to surprise you."
Nearly two decades of service
Carian served on active duty as an intelligence specialist until 2011 at Camp Pendleton in California, Camp Hansen in Okinawa, and at military bases in Japan and South Korea. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as a senior intelligence analyst where he was promoted to Sergeant.
After returning in 2011, he reenlisted as a reservist, serving since then at military installations in North Carolina, Texas and Jordan. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant in 2013, and he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 2016 from Liberty University.
While stationed in Okinawa, he met and married his wife, Kimberly, also a veteran who served in the same Marine unit there. They have two children.
Carian joined Los Alamos in November 2023 but continues to serve with the Selected Marine Corps Reserves in New Mexico. In his current role at the Laboratory, Carian observes and supervises subcontractor work on job sites to ensure adherence to Lab procedures and specifications.
Anthony, who served in the Marines from 1980-1984 and reached the rank of Sergeant, said achieving Gunnery Sergeant rank takes a lot more time and commitment by someone who reenlists multiple times.
"Gunnery Sergeant is a cut above," Anthony said. "It takes real dedication to service with a lot of personal sacrifice, especially with family. Jobs at the Lab are already hard with frequent nights and weekends, and on top of that public service."
As a career Marine, Carian said it's very rewarding to contribute to the Lab mission and nuclear deterrence. "I never had a team like this that goes above and beyond," Carian said. "I feel overwhelmed that they did this for me."
Supporting veterans and those who serve
The Lab population has a strong connection to military service and has since the Manhattan Project, when Army General Leslie Groves was in charge. It's not just the national security mission that connects the Lab to the military. The Laboratory has also become a way for many veterans to continue their service to the nation.
Approximately 6.8%, or close to 1,000, of the Laboratory’s more than 14,300 employees has served, are currently in the reserves, or have a connection to the military.
- A Veterans employee group brings awareness to issues important to veterans in the workplace.
- The Laboratory’s Service Academies and ROTC Research Associates (SARRA) program brings students from the United States Military Academy at West Point, the United States Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy to Los Alamos in the summer.
- Los Alamos participates in the Department of Defense Skillbridge Program via the Hiring Our Heroes corporate fellowship program.
- See how veterans can continue the mission through the Los Alamos Jobs portal.
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