Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana
PEARL HARBOR – A 2011 South Haven High School graduate and South Haven, Mississippi, 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 Medora Wiley works in the personnel department aboard USS Dewey, currently operating out of San Diego. Wiley is responsible for handling paperwork, correspondence letters and various admin functions. She is also taking the exam in the fall to become a yeoman.
Wiley applies the lessons she learned from South Haven to her work in the Navy.
“I learned to never give up and keep striving for greatness,” said Wiley. “Even when things get tough you keep pushing through the storm to come out on top.”
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 hope to interact with the other countries and see what I can learn from them,” said Wiley. “I also want to build key relationships with other navies and see the island of Hawaii.”
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.
“When I first came into he Navy, I had a tough time but I was recently awarded Blue Jacket of the Quarter last week by being a leader in my division and training other people,” said Wiley. “I have grown up a lot professionally and I am more of a leader.”
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, Wiley and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I know that I am strong,” said Wiley. “I have endured a lot of ups and downs but through it all, I remain focused on the job. I have become very driven and dedicated to the Navy.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil