Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2009 Penn Hills Senior High School graduate and Pittsburgh 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 Rob Wood is a ship's serviceman aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.A Navy ship's serviceman is responsible for boosting the morale on the ship by providing different services.
Wood applies the lessons learned from Pittsburgh to working in the Navy.
“I learned accountability, maturity and responsibility growing up, and it's definitely helped me in the Navy,” said Wood.
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 excited to learn about the mission of RIMPAC, and how we interact with our allies,” said Wood.
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 making third class petty officer,” said Wood. "I'm also proud of being Blue Jacket of the Quarter in 2016."
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, Wood 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 about time management and patience since I've been in the Nacy,” said Wood. “Serving in the Navy means everything to me. I love serving my country and I plan on making this a career.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil