WASHINGTON, D.C. –
When Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico in 2017, Julymar Otero awoke in a North Carolina hotel room to news of the destruction.
The looming storm cut off most communication in Otero’s hometown Toa Baja, a small city with scenic views on Puerto Rico’s northern coast.
She said her mind immediately flashed to her family. Everything Otero loved remained on the island: her parents, grandparents and friends. Earlier that day, Otero had traveled to North Carolina to compete in a volleyball game as a member of Towson University’s women’s team.
Puerto Rico withered and toiled under a darkened sky. Puerto Ricans had seen storms before but nothing like Maria, Otero said.
From her hotel room 1,500 miles away, Otero watched in horror images of the island being ravaged by Maria’s 150 miles per hour winds.
She said she looked at video of crumbled buildings and torn rooftops in Hurricane Maria’s path. The wind howled as water flooded streets. Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans died following Maria’s wrath, leaving the 3,400-square mile U.S. territory in tatters. Just across the Bay of San Juan, Maria destroyed the coastal town of La Perla. The category 4 hurricane shut down 100 percent of the island’s power.
And, for five days after returning to Towson’s campus just outside of Baltimore, the then-college student could only sit and wait.
She said she checked her phone each hour, scouring Facebook and looking through her texts for any replies. Nothing. She tried to go on with life like normal. She attended her classes and went to volleyball practice.
Finally on the fifth day she received a reply. A nearby neighbor of her family messaged her. The neighbor had seen her mom and some of Otero’s family who live in the La Pachanga borough of Toa Baja. Her heart racing, Otero asked if the neighbor had seen her father and mother. The neighbor said that she had. Otero said she breathed a sigh of relief.
Otero said she knew one day she would join the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. After Puerto Rico’s worst hurricane in her lifetime, she wanted to be among the first responders to help residents in need. She wanted to give back to her home country in its time of need.
After graduating from Towson with degrees in foreign language and computer science in 2018, she competed for Puerto Rico’s volleyball national team in Kazakhstan and Finland. She later joined the Army during the COVID-19 by enlisting in the Puerto Rico Army National Guard in 2020. The Army specialist aided the Caribbean nation’s relief efforts following Hurricane Fiona in September 2023.
“For me, being a first responder for Puerto Rico is a blessing,” Otero said. “It is another level of caring. My family looks at me as a first responder. You know, if something happens, we're going to look out for you.”
A giving heart
Since an early age, Otero said she harbored a concern for others. During Maria’s aftermath, she welcomed her mother into her apartment in Maryland until the recovery efforts had restored power and other services.
Growing up she said she never hesitated to help a relative clean mold and remove water from their house following a tropical storm. Puerto Ricans families form unshakeable bonds in the way they share traditions and dinners, Otero said. Neighbors in close-knit small communities grow close with one another.
She said that community upbringing remains with her as a Soldier serving as a 42A human resources specialist and a 31B military police officer.
Otero said her fascination with military service started while listening to stories from her maternal grandfather Pedro Desiderio-Roman and great-grandfather Guillermo Ortiz. Guillermo fought in the Korean War while Desiderio-Roman served in Vietnam.
She had seen her fellow countrymen’s rescue efforts during the many tropical storms that had plagued Puerto Rico throughout her childhood.
Otero said her mother, Dagmar Perez, inspired her to become the first woman in her family to join the military. Perez works for the city of Toa Baja as a clerk.
“She's a strong woman,” said Otero, 27. She's everything to me.”
Athletic phenom
Before she joined the Guard, her life revolved around volleyball. Otero grew up playing the game after her father, a former basketball player and her mother introduced her to the sport at age 7. She said she played pickup volleyball in local gyms and in front of her family’s modest two-story home near the shores of Rio de La Plata, Puerto Rico’s longest river.
As a youth, Otero played both outside hitter and setter, which she said gave her versatility that caught the attention of the Puerto Rican national team coaches. She began competing on the junior national level at age 14 and eventually earned a scholarship to play volleyball at Towson University.
In September, Otero represented the Army on the All-Army women’s volleyball team, helping the squad win its first Armed Forces Military Championship since 2015.
Giving back
Otero attended basic military training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in 2021.
Otero said pride in her country inspired her to follow the Puerto Rican tradition of serving in the U.S. armed forces. Puerto Ricans have served and fought in every major U.S. conflict since 1899.
“Puerto Ricans are everywhere,” she said. “We represent leadership, passion. We represent unity. We are U.S. citizens, but we also have our own culture, and we have our own identity. I'm very happy and very proud that I was born here on an island.”
In September 2023, Hurricane Fiona made its path from the middle Atlantic into Puerto Rico.
The storm grew in intensity as it hovered over the island once again knocking out the island nation’s power grid.
Otero’s unit sent her to Fort Buchanan, the only active Army installation in Puerto Rico. There she said she helped coordinate relief efforts and emergency services for 50 Guard members for 23 days. She also went on supply runs, providing food and water to neighboring towns. When Otero’s unit received an emergency call, Otero volunteered and became one of the first Soldiers to arrive for the relief mission.
“[Joining the Guard) was a dream she had,” said Sgt. 1st Class Elba Bonilla, a battalion senior supply sergeant in Otero’s unit. “She likes to meet people from different countries, communities and races. She saw that opportunity in the Guard while she was still able to be home and take care of her family.”
During Fiona’s aftermath, Otero welcomed her parents and extended family into her house. After her Guard unit activated to assist nearby towns with disaster relief, Otero would make the drive back from to her parents’ house near Rio de La Plata to help remove floodwater and clean their home.
As a Soldier, Otero watches over other Soldiers, often volunteering to sponsor new troops. During field training, Otero brings the unit breakfast.
“She cares a lot about other Soldiers,” Bonilla said.
During training camp for the All-Armed Forces Tournament at Fort Carson, Colorado, earlier this year Otero would stay late to help teammates with passing and hitting, said All-Army volleyball coach Tatiana Brown. Like Otero did for Towson University, she doubled as an outside hitter and setter for the All-Army team.
“She's very selfless,” Brown said. “That's what makes her great at all positions. It's because she's always thinking what can better the team and get to the win.”
Otero recently graduated from the Basic Leadership School at Juana Villas on the island’s south side. She earned an Army achievement medal for her work during the Hurricane Fiona relief efforts.
Otero said she plans to continue competing for her pro volleyball team, Changas de Naranjito, and the All-Army volleyball team, while managing a full-time job as a desk clerk for the IRS.
“She’s a leader, she’s got structure,” Bonilla said. “She’s very committed.”