Her assignments include 41st Ordnance Company, 59th Ordnance Brigade, West Germany; Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA; 99th Support Battalion, 199th Infantry Brigade, Fort Lewis, WA; Troop Support Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, LA; Fort Polk NCO Academy, Fort Polk, LA; Denver Recruiting Battalion, Colorado Springs, CO; Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; 21st Combat Support Hospital, Fort Hood, TX; Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, TX; 65th Medical Brigade, Republic of Korea; General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX; Western Regional Medical Command, Joint Base Lewis-McCord, WA, Regional Health Command-Pacific (Provisional), Joint Base Lewis-McCord.

CSM Gavia has served in several duty positions to include Pershing II missile electronic repairer, radiology specialist, area support team noncommissioned officer (NCO), squad leader, primary leadership development course instructor, recruiter, station commander, imaging and radiology services NCOIC, Combat Support Hospital Operations NCO, Combat Medic Training Research and Development NCO, First Sergeant, Chief Instructor/Writer, Academy of Health Sciences Senior Enlisted Advisor, Brigade Operations Sergeant, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital Command Sergeant Major, Brooke Army Medical Center Command Sergeant Major, Western Regional Medical Command Sergeant Major and Chief Clinical NCO, Regional Health Command-Pacific (Provisional). Her military education includes all noncommissioned officer professional development study courses. She is a graduate of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Class 55. She has earned an Associate Degree in Technology, a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts, and a Masters in Business Administration.

Her awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Expert Field Medical Badge. She is a member of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club and the Order of Military Medical Merit.