Thursday, July 19, 2018

Rockport 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 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.

“Im 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

Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil