Photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Gary Ward
PEARL HARBOR – A 2012 Heritage High School graduate and Vancouver, Washington, native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Imdahl is a hospital corpsman aboard USS Carl Vinson, currently operating out of San Diego. Hospital corpsmen perform duties as assistants in the prevention and treatment of disease and injury, including first aid and preventive medicine procedures; assist with physical examinations; provide patient care and the administration of medicines; perform general laboratory, pharmacy, and other patient support services.
Imdahl applies the lessons he learned from Van Couver to his work in the Navy.
“I have learned dedication,” said Imdahl. “Once I start something I put in 100 percent even if sacrificing my sleep or free time.”
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 want the experience of working with other countries,” said Imdahl. “I would like to see how they work in the medical field along with their process of improvement, so I can bring that into what we have.”
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.
“My proudest accomplishment for me was making petty officer second class in under three years,” said Imdahl. “It took a lot of studying, but I made it happen.”
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, Imdahl and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I learned that I operate very well under pressure,” said Imdahl. “I did not think I could handle the pressure of trauma, but I zone in and take care of what I need to take care of.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil