Pomona Native Participates in World’s Largest
International Maritime Warfare Exercise
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
2009 Buena
Vista High School graduate and Pomona,
California 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
Joseph Chavez
is a gas turbine systems technician aboard
USS Lake Champlain, currently operating
out of San Diego, California.
A Navy gas turbine systems technician is responsible
for the transferring and testing of fuel and oil
on the ship.
Chavez applies the
lessons he learned from Pomona to his
work in the Navy.
“I learned to be respectful,” said Chavez. “There
is a wide range of people with different backgrounds which I saw in California,
so it was really easy to transition to the Navy.”
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 hope to go on hikes and meet people from different
countries while here in Hawaii,” said Chavez.
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 just
coming out here and being a part of RIMPAC,” said Chavez.
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, Chavez and other sailors
know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing
the Navy the nation needs.
“I think everyone can do anything they want to,”
said Chavez. “People think deployments are hard,
but I think they're really easy.”