Heather Zoellner, took the U.S. Army civilian oath of office, as she became the newest civilian for the 1st Mission Support Command (MSC), U.S. Army Reserve – Puerto Rico, May 18, in a ceremony led by Col. Manuel Ocasio Jr., Army Reserve-Puerto Rico’s deputy commander at the command’s headquarters.

Zoellner, who is a Korea native currently residing in Toa Alta, will be providing technical and administrative assistance to the 471st Engineer Company as a unit administrative technician.

“I’m excited, I’m truly grateful for the opportunity. My passion is to serve, and I love to serve Soldiers” said Zoellner, who is also a veteran with multiple deployments. As a Soldier Zoellner is currently assigned to the 2/348th Army Reserve-Puerto Rico Training Support Battalion.

“I’m ready to learn new skill sets so I can help the unit and I am willing to accept the challenge,” added Zoellner, when asked about her expectations about the new job.

This is the second civilian hiring action within a week at the largest federal U.S. Army command in the Caribbean, which is committed to continue recruiting the most talented personnel to work in critical functions in support of the mission.

“The line of efforts continue with the recruitment of civilians, which are enablers for the command and facilitate us meeting military missions,” said Ocasio, who holds the second highest ranking position in the largest federal Army command in the Caribbean.

“Even with the pandemic limitations, we still were able to hire new personnel, and fill a capability gap that we had within the command,” Ocasio concluded.

New civilian employees are required by federal law to swear in when they accept an appropriated funds civil servant position, as an indicator of their high level of service and dedication.