By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Electa Berassa, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Senior Chief Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2011 Cornwall Central High School graduate and Cornwall, New York 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 3rd Class Keith Youngs is an operations specialist aboard USS Lake Champlain, currently operating out of San Diego, California.
A Navy operations specialist is responsible for the safe navigation of the ship using radar and tracking systems.
Youngs applies the lessons he learned from Cornwall to his work in the Navy.
“I learned the ability to be able to work effectively with different teams,” said Youngs. “I brought that into my military career.”
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,” according to Navy officials. 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 hope to gain further recognition through experience while here at RIMPAC,” said Youngs.
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’m most proud of winning first place at The Murph Challenge for 2017 for the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation,” said Youngs.
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, Youngs 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 humility since joining the Navy,” said Youngs. “Serving means putting aside what you personally want for the greater good.”