Sacramento 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 2008 Luther
Burbank High School graduate and Sacramento, 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 2nd Class
Jonathan De La Rosa is an interior communication electrician aboard USS Lake
Champlain, currently operating out of San Diego, California.
A Navy interior communication
electrician is responsible for repair and maintenance of the television, alarms
and communication systems within the interior of the ship.
De La Rosa applies the
lessons he learned from Sacramento to his work in the Navy.
“During my time in high
school I was in ROTC and that helped prepare me for the Navy,”
said De La Rosa.
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 gain new
experiences and see all the ships working as a battle group while at RIMPAC,” said De La Rosa.
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 a role model to my younger
siblings,” said De La Rosa. “Being in the Navy is a big deal. They say they want to be like their big
brother and that makes me feel proud of what I'm doing.”
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,
De La Rosa and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last
beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“My grandfather was in the Spanish Navy, so I
was already influenced to join,” said De La Rosa. “To me, it means carrying on
a tradition.”