Montgomery Native
Participates in World’s Largest International Maritime Warfare Exercise
By Mass Communication
Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Brown, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo by Mass Communication
Specialist Senior Chief Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2014
Montgomery High School graduate and Montgomery, Texas 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 Jacob
Ferguson is a yeoman aboard USS Lake Champlain, currently operating out of San
Diego, California.
A Navy yeoman is responsible
for handling all the ship's correspondence and
pay for all personnel on the ship.
Ferguson is looking forward
to applying the lessons learned from Montgomery to working in the Navy.
“I learned to always keep
pushing forward, that's helped me in the
Navy,” said Ferguson.
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 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.
“I'm mostly looking forward
to meeting sailors from all the different participating countries,” said
Ferguson.
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 proud to have been advanced meritoriously to petty
officer second class,” said Ferguson.
"I was one of three sailors on the ship to have been meritoriously
advanced to second class."
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, Brazil, 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,
Ferguson 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 that I'm a go-getter, and I like striving for the next best
qualification in my career or how to further myself,” said Ferguson. “Serving
in the Navy means I get to do my part in serving my country.”