PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Petty Officer 2nd Class Lola Patty, a native of Sacramento, California, serves aboard USS William P. Lawrence, a U.S. Navy warship operating out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
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| Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Isaiah Williams |
Patty graduated from The Met High School in 2018.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Sacramento.
“In my hometown, I attended a Big Picture Learning school where I pursued internships, gaining valuable real-world experience across various fields," said Patty. "This allowed me to develop through hard work and hands-on learning. I was also a sea cadet in my hometown, which helped me seamlessly transition into the Navy."
Patty joined the Navy five years ago. Today, Patty serves as a fire controlman.
“I joined the Navy because I was inspired by my grandfather, who served in the Marine Corps,” said Patty. "I also wanted to enter the STEM field, and figured joining the Navy was a good way to gain experience."
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.
Patty plays an important role in the exercise.
“During RIMPAC, my role involves conducting combat exercises. I serve as a work center supervisor, overseeing a team of seven individuals responsible for continuing maintenance operations,” said Patty. "I have had the opportunity to socialize with people from other countries and trade coins and covers. It's exciting and fills me with a sense of pride. Knowing we are not alone. Training alongside our allies reinforces the principle of 'train how you fight.'"
Patty 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 a lot to me,” said Patty. "Serving is close to my heart because of my grandfather. I remember telling him I was reenlisting, it filled me with pride to carry his legacy and his name."
Patty is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my dad, James Patty," added Patty. "He has always been a hard worker and set a great example for me. He understands the demands of my schedule and how exhausting it can be at times. He taught me that it's okay to acknowledge the amount of work but to never let my spirit waver. He also emphasized the importance of finding faith on my own. I would like to thank God, I am the person I am today because of my faith. I would also like to thank my grandma, Margaret Patty, and my mom, Vanessa Patty. My grandma has been there for me since losing my grandpa, supporting me unconditionally. Lastly, my mom has always accepted me for who I am and provides emotional support whenever I need it, helping to center me when I'm worried about something."
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/