Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana
PEARL HARBOR – A 2002 Oxon Hill High School graduate and Oxon Hill, Maryland, native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Chief Petty Officer Dan Rungfarsangaroo is a gunner's mate aboard USS Dewey, currently operating out of San Diego. A Navy gunner's mate is responsible for the repair and maintenance of weapons systems on the ship.
Rungfarsangaroo applies the lessons he learned from Oxon Hill to his work in the Navy.
“I learned to be humble and be grateful for what you have,” said Rungfarsangaroo.
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 ready to do some joint exercises and I’m looking forward to training our junior sailors during this exercise,” said Rungfarsangaroo.
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 was able to provide people careers as a recruiter,” said Rungfarsangaroo. “I'm also proud of making chief petty officer.”
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, Rungfarsangaroo and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy means fighting for freedom and standing the watch,” said Rungfarsangaroo.
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil