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
Rockport-Fulton High School graduate and Rockport, Texas 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 1st Class
Steven Weddell is an electronics technician aboard USS Lake Champlain,
currently operating out of San Diego, California.
A Navy electronics technician
is responsible for maintenance and repair of the radar, navigation, and communication systems on the ship.
Weddell applies the lessons
he learned from Rockport to his work in the Navy.
“I learned that being polite
and cordial goes a long way in building good working relationships,” said
Weddell.
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 witness all of the international navies working together towards a common goal,” said Weddell.
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 being picked as the leading petty officer
of 24 Sailors as well as putting on the rank of first class petty officer,”
said Weddell.
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,
Weddell 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 serving in the Navy is sometimes
a difficult lifestyle but there is a lot of
character development and usable knowledge to be gained
for my future,” said Weddell