Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2012 Madison County High School graduate and Athens, Georgia, native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Petty Officer 2nd Class Calvin Davis is a machinist's mate aboard USS John P. Murtha, currently operating out of San Diego.A Navy machinist's mate is responsible for maintaining hydraulics and air conditioning on the ship.
Davis applies the lessons he learned from Athens to his work in the Navy.
“I learned respect and staying above a situation,” said Davis. “I also learned to have integrity to make sure you are doing the right thing when no one is looking.”
As the world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring safety at sea and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.
The theme of RIMPAC 2018 is Capable, Adaptive, Partners. The participating nations and forces exercise a wide range of capabilities and demonstrate the inherent flexibility of maritime forces. These capabilities range from disaster relief and maritime security operations to sea control and complex warfighting. The relevant, realistic training program includes, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as amphibious, counter-piracy, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal and diving and salvage operations.
“I will finally get to see what we do on the ocean,” said Davis. “I am looking forward to seeing how it all works together.”
This is the first time Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are participating in RIMPAC. Additional firsts include New Zealand serving as sea combat commander and Chile serving as combined force maritime component commander. This is the first time a non-founding RIMPAC nation (Chile) will hold a component commander leadership position.
“I am proud to be a plank owner,” said Davis. “It is pretty cool, so I can set the standard on the ship.”
Twenty-six nations, 46 surface ships, five submarines, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate in the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise. This year's exercise includes forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.
As a member of the U.S. Navy, Davis and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I always wanted to be in the military, and I do enjoy my job,” said Davis. “I learned that my wife and everyone is very supportive and always pushing me to go forward.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil