Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2008 Point loma 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 Christian Estrada is a logistics specialist aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.A Navy logistics specialist is responsible for managing inventories of repair parts/general supplies and distributing mail for ships, squadrons, and shore-based activities.
Estrada applies the lessons learned from San Diego to working in the Navy.
“When I was younger I played sports so I learned the importance of teamwork and the power of getting things done as a group,” said Estrada.
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.
“Im looking forward to experiencing Hawaii and seeing how our Navy interacts with the other nations' navies,” said Estrada. “I'm hoping to gain the experiences of being underway and giving me a better understanding of ship life.”
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 am proud of getting to this point in my career where I see myself accomplishing my goals and seeing my hard work paying off,” said Estrada.
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, Estrada and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Since joining the Navy I learned how to grow from other people’s experiences,” said Estrada. “The Navy allowed me to step back and see the bigger picture. Serving in the Navy is an honor because not a lot of people get to do it and since it's a fact that not a lot of people do it, it makes me feel like I am doing something special.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil