Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2014 Mira Mesa High School graduate and San Diego native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Seaman Vincent Romero is a hospital corpsman aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.A Navy hospital corpsman is responsible for conducting vitals on patients, managing appointment schedules and helping perform minor medical procedures.
Romero applies the lessons he learned from San Diego to his work in the Navy.
“I learned to be a jack of all trades and it's helped me be more diverse and multi-task in my day to day responsibilities,” said Romero.
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 enjoyed swimming with the turtles while spending some time here in Hawaii and I'm looking forward to adventourous hikes and visiting different beaches,” said Romero.
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 the places I've traveled to and all of the different people I've met," said Romero. "It's nice knowing I have friends wherever I go.”
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, Romero 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 helped me realized that everyone has their own individual story and getting to know new people has helped broaden my horizons,” said Romero.
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil