Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Theodore Quintana
PEARL HARBOR – A 2009 Paloma Valley High School graduate and Temecula, California, native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Lt. j.g. Andee Noza is a anti-submarine warfare officer aboard USS Dewey, currently operating out of San Diego. A Navy anti-submarine warfare officer is responsible for searching and tracking submarines.
Noza applies the lessons he learned from Temecula to his work in the Navy.
“I learned discipline and respect which has carried me a long way in the Navy,” said Noza.
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.
“During RIMPAC, I am looking forward to being able to see how other nations operate in terms of anti-submarine warfare and see how we can get better learning from the experiences,” said Noza.
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, Noza and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Nothing is too big,” said Noza. “You can't say that you can't do something until you've actually tried it. Once you put your head down and start working hard with the help of your people behind you, you can achieve anything.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil