Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2015 Creekside High School graduate and Riverdale, Georgia, 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 Cedric Davies is an aviation support equipment technician aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.A Navy aviation support equipment technician is responsible for maintaining support equipment for aircraft.
Davies applies the lessons learned from Riverdale to working in the Navy.
“I never take life for granted, and I've always taken my work ethic seriously,” said Davies. "I've learned to live life with a smile on my face, and that's taken me far in the Navy."
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 was excited to be a part of the RIMPAC basketball team,” said Davies. "We made it pretty far, and it was awesome to experience all the different cultures of the participating nations."
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.
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, Davies and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“The Navy has shown me my true potential,” said Davies. "Over time I've become more confident with not only my work but with the people around me that have helped guide me. At first, serving in the Navy meant fulfilling a promise to my grandfather. He wanted me to live life to the fullest, and now that I am, it's the greatest experience in the world.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil