PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Petty Officer 3rd Class Clintroy McLaggon, a native of Boynton Beach, Florida, 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.
McLaggon graduated from Boynton Beach Community High School in 2020.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Boynton Beach.
“Growing up, I learned discipline and how to be understanding and open-minded,” said McLaggon. “In the Navy, you have to look at things from other points of view, not just how you see them.”
McLaggon joined the Navy three years ago. Today, McLaggon serves as a damage controlman.
“I joined the Navy after my plans to join the Marine Corps fell through,” said McLaggon. “I went to the Navy office and they offered me a chance to be a firefighter and that convinced me to join and be a damage controlman.”
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.
McLaggon plays an important role in the exercise.
“I think RIMPAC is fun and you can find whatever you are looking for,” said McLaggon. “I’m looking forward to meeting some sailors from the foreign navies.”
McLaggon serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jerome Fjeld |
McLaggon graduated from Boynton Beach Community High School in 2020.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Boynton Beach.
“Growing up, I learned discipline and how to be understanding and open-minded,” said McLaggon. “In the Navy, you have to look at things from other points of view, not just how you see them.”
McLaggon joined the Navy three years ago. Today, McLaggon serves as a damage controlman.
“I joined the Navy after my plans to join the Marine Corps fell through,” said McLaggon. “I went to the Navy office and they offered me a chance to be a firefighter and that convinced me to join and be a damage controlman.”
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.
McLaggon plays an important role in the exercise.
“I think RIMPAC is fun and you can find whatever you are looking for,” said McLaggon. “I’m looking forward to meeting some sailors from the foreign navies.”
McLaggon 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 means I am doing something many others aren’t able to do,” said McLaggon. “I’m able to serve my country and make a better life for my family.”
McLaggon is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank my dad, Clinton, for making sure I always had everything I needed, even though we didn’t have a lot,” added McLaggon. “He didn’t 100% support my decision to join the military, but he understood why I did it and wanted me to get everything I could out of the Navy. I also want to thank retired Marine Master Sgt. Patrick Barber who has been with me since he was my Junior ROTC instructor during my sophomore year of high school. He was my biggest influencer when it came to joining the military and he always kept me out of trouble and on the right path.”
McLaggon plans to continue their education while in the Navy.
“I haven’t decided how long I will be in the Navy, but I want to pursue a computer science degree before I get out,” said McLaggon.
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/