Photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2015 Le Sueur Henderson High School graduate and Le Sueur, Minnesota, 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 David Koenig is an aviation maintenance administrationman aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.An aviation maintenance administrationman is responsible for logging records and keeping track of equipment and supplies as well as performing maintenance.
Koenig applies the lessons he learned from Le Sueur to his work in the Navy.
“I have learned to be humble and treat everyone with respect,” said Koenig. “It has been going pretty well so far. I like to brighten other peoples' day.”
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 looking forward to strengthening ties with the other countries and building camaraderie with them,” said Koenig.
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 have achieved self worth,” said Koenig. “I have learned to do things on my own. I am proud of making rank because I came in undesignated.”
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, Koenig and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“My grandpa served in WWII and my uncle served in the Coast Guard,” said Koenig. “I feel proud to serve.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil