Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2012 Oceanside High School graduate and Oceanside, 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 Regine Sibayan is a hospital corpsman aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.She’s responsible for taking care of sailors' mental health through counseling and evaluations.
Sibayan applies the lessons learned from Ocenaside to working in the Navy.
“I learned that hard work pays off, and it's helped me succeed in the Navy,” said Sibayan.
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'm looking forward to meeting people from all the participating nations, and sharing our medical practices with them,” said Sibayan.
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 of being on the ship,” said Sibayan. "I wanted to be here because of the challenge, and I enjoy that challenge."
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, Sibayan 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 I can multitask, and I've learned how to be more giving and compassionate to people,” said Sibayan. “Serving in the Navy keeps me grounded while still being proud of what I do.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil