By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2012 Noble Street Charter School graduate and Chicago native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise known as the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Petty Officer 2nd Class Princess Nelson is a boatswain's mate aboard USS William P. Lawrence, currently operating out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
A Navy boatswain's mate is responsible for performing the duties of the deck department, such as line handling, bridge watches, and underway replenishments.
Nelson is looking forward to applying the lessons learned from Chicago to working in the Navy.
“I learned how to humble myself growing up, and that's helped me in the Navy,” said Nelson.
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 will 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 amphibious operations, gunnery, missile, anti-submarine and air defense exercises, as well as counter-piracy, mine clearance operations, explosive ordnance disposal and diving and salvage operations.
“RIMPAC is a new experience for me, so I'm looking forward to the challenge,” said Nelson.
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.
This year will also feature live firing of a Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) from a U.S. Air Force aircraft, surface to ship missiles by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) from a launcher on the back of a Palletized Load System (PLS) by the U.S. Army. This marks the first time a land based unit will participate in the live fire event during RIMPAC. RIMPAC 2018 will also include international band engagements and highlight fleet innovation during an Innovation Fair.
“I'm most proud of making second class petty officer in under four years,” said Nelson. "It's very hard to do in my rate, so the fact that I was able to gives me a lot of pride."
Twenty-six nations, 46 surface ships, five submarines, 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, Nelson and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I've learned how to work with different people and different personalities and that's helped me tremendously as a leader,” said Nelson. “Serving in the Navy gives me the chance to do and learn new things that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I'm able to grow into the person I want to be because of the Navy."