Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana
PEARL HARBOR – A 2012 W. T. Woodson High School graduate and Fairfax, Virginia, native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Ensign Connor Wade is a strike officer and also a collateral public affairs officer aboard USS Dewey, currently operating out of San Diego, California.A Navy strike officer is responsible for overall strike warfare aboard the ship and serving as engagement control officer for tomahawk defense scenarios.
Wade applies the lessons he learned from Fairfax to his work in the Navy.
“My dad has been in the Navy for 28 years,” said Wade. “I moved around a lot. That gave me a lot of adaptability and helps me to adjust to different scenarios.”
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 am excited to work with other foreign nations and build upon relations with those nations,” said Wade. “Also, I’m looking forward to being able to expand our capabilities as a global force.”
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 proud that I am in charge of a division,” said Wade. “Right out of college I had ten firecontrolmen work under me, and they are the hardest working individuals. It has been awesome having the opportunity to lead them.”
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, Wade and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Everyone has a small job, and if you do it correctly it all leads into the overall big picture that is the U.S. military,” said Wade. “It is awesome to know that you are contributing to something bigger.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil