Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2010 Hann Ro Que High School graduate and San Juan, Puerto Rico, 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 Manuel Delgado is a yeoman aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego.Yeomen perform clerical and administrative duties, including typing and filing; prepare and route correspondence and reports; maintain records, publications, and service records; counsel officer personnel on administrative matters; perform administrative support for shipboard legal proceedings and maintain shipboard legal files; conduct reporting/detaching, and required retention related interviews.
Delgado applies the lessons he learned from San Juan to his work in the Navy.
“My mom was in the military,” said Delgado. “She taught me to value other people, how to present myself and always be professional. It has helped me in how to carry myself and helps my senior personnel to see that I am trustworthy and can be counted on.”
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.
“There are so many countries here,” said Delgado. “I am able to see people from all over. Seeing how they interact gives me a chance to experience other cultures.”
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 was able to experience other ports during deployments,” said Delgado. “I am proud to be part of the experience in Vietnam and seeing how happy they were to see us there. It is something I never expected to have happen in my life.”
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, Delgado and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I have learned I am tougher than I thought,” said Delgado. “I also am very tolerant. It is not easy being on deployment. But, I learned to put an effort and push myself to go the extra mile to do more than I am asked to do.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil