PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Ensign Sean Reilly, a native of Alameda, California, serves aboard USS Somerset, a U.S. Navy warship operating out of San Diego, California, and participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
Reilly graduated from Alameda High School in 2009. Additionally, Reilly earned a bachelor’s in business management from the University of Puget Sound in 2014.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Alameda.
“Alameda used to have a naval base there and that instilled a naval heritage in me,” said Reilly. “I learned the value of leadership and having a good work ethic from playing baseball for my school.”
Reilly joined the Navy two years ago. Today, Reilly serves as a surface warfare officer.
“I joined the Navy because it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” said Reilly. “My family members were in the Navy and I wanted to give back to my country.”
As the world’s largest international maritime exercise, approximately 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel will participate in RIMPAC 2024. This exercise 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 2024 marks the 29th exercise in a series that began in 1971.
The theme of RIMPAC 2024 is “Partners: Integrated and Prepared.” 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.
Reilly plays an important role in the exercise.
“It is pretty cool that we can get all of these different countries’ militaries together for one common goal,” said Reilly.
Reilly serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
“Serving in the Navy is something that I felt like I needed to do to give back to my country,” said Reilly.
Reilly is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my wife, Shawna, and my mom and dad, who are also super supportive of me serving in the military,” added Reilly. “I’ll never stop thanking them for that.”
Hosted by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, RIMPAC 2024 will be led by Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, Vice Adm. John Wade, who will serve as Combined Task Force (CTF) commander. For the first time in RIMPAC history, a member of the Chilean Navy, Commodore Alberto Guerrero, will serve as deputy commander of the CTF. Rear Adm. Kazushi Yokota of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will serve as vice commander. Other key leaders of the multinational force will include Commodore Kristjan Monaghan of Canada, who will command the maritime component, and Air Commodore Louise Desjardins of Australia, who will command the air component.
During RIMPAC, a network of capable, adaptive partners train and operate together in order to strengthen their collective forces and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. RIMPAC 2024 contributes to the increased interoperability, resiliency and agility needed by the Joint and Combined Force to deter and defeat aggression by major powers across all domains and levels of conflict.
More information about RIMPAC is available here: https://www.cpf.navy.mil/RIMPAC/
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jerome Fjeld |
Reilly graduated from Alameda High School in 2009. Additionally, Reilly earned a bachelor’s in business management from the University of Puget Sound in 2014.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Alameda.
“Alameda used to have a naval base there and that instilled a naval heritage in me,” said Reilly. “I learned the value of leadership and having a good work ethic from playing baseball for my school.”
Reilly joined the Navy two years ago. Today, Reilly serves as a surface warfare officer.
“I joined the Navy because it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” said Reilly. “My family members were in the Navy and I wanted to give back to my country.”
As the world’s largest international maritime exercise, approximately 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel will participate in RIMPAC 2024. This exercise 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 2024 marks the 29th exercise in a series that began in 1971.
The theme of RIMPAC 2024 is “Partners: Integrated and Prepared.” 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.
Reilly plays an important role in the exercise.
“It is pretty cool that we can get all of these different countries’ militaries together for one common goal,” said Reilly.
Reilly serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
“Serving in the Navy is something that I felt like I needed to do to give back to my country,” said Reilly.
Reilly is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my wife, Shawna, and my mom and dad, who are also super supportive of me serving in the military,” added Reilly. “I’ll never stop thanking them for that.”
Hosted by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, RIMPAC 2024 will be led by Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, Vice Adm. John Wade, who will serve as Combined Task Force (CTF) commander. For the first time in RIMPAC history, a member of the Chilean Navy, Commodore Alberto Guerrero, will serve as deputy commander of the CTF. Rear Adm. Kazushi Yokota of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will serve as vice commander. Other key leaders of the multinational force will include Commodore Kristjan Monaghan of Canada, who will command the maritime component, and Air Commodore Louise Desjardins of Australia, who will command the air component.
During RIMPAC, a network of capable, adaptive partners train and operate together in order to strengthen their collective forces and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. RIMPAC 2024 contributes to the increased interoperability, resiliency and agility needed by the Joint and Combined Force to deter and defeat aggression by major powers across all domains and levels of conflict.
More information about RIMPAC is available here: https://www.cpf.navy.mil/RIMPAC/