Faces of RIMPAC

PACIFIC OCEAN

07.22.2016

Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Cox 

Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet           

Lt. j.g. Felipe Medina, an Auxiliary and Fuel Officer in the Armada de Chile (Chilean Navy) is working with the engineering department aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) during Rim of the Pacific 2016 to learn how U.S. Navy engineers take care of the destroyer.

Medina, who is attached to the Chilean oiler Araucano (AO-53) is from Valparaiso, Chile. His father, Arnado Medina, is a business owner and electrician and his mother, Patricea Gonzalez, is a home-maker.
“This is my first international exercise with a U.S. Navy ship,” said Medina. “We don’t usually get many operations outside my country with my ship.”
Medina, who went to the Chilean Naval Academy for four years, graduated in 2015 and began his first tour aboard the Chilean Navy’s steel-hulled four-masted barquentine tall ship Esmeralda (BE-43).
“We took six months and went on a world tour,” said Medina. “We went to France, Holland, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, then back to Chile.”
Medina, who was on the national Chilean handball team, says there are several things he likes about the Stockdale.
“The food on the ship is great with a large assortment and I have no complaints whatsoever about it,” said Medina. “I also notice that many people get to work out on the ship. I see many people going to the gym, hitting the treadmills, PT-ing outside the ship and I think that is great. I like to play sports, and on my ship we don’t get to work out very often.”
While aboard as part of an exchange program for RIMPAC, Medina hopes to learn something that he can take back with him to the Chilean Navy.
“Seeing another way, another ship, especially a U.S. Navy ship, will open my mind to the possibilities of doing something different,” said Medina. “I have a really nice watch right now from six to nine and it’s an engineering watch so I’m practically learning what you guys do here, which I can take with me.”

Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 to Aug. 4, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David Cox/Released)

• Date Taken: 07.22.2016
• Date Posted: 07.24.2016 17:43
• Photo ID: 2741381
• VIRIN: 160722-N-KM939-051
• Resolution: 3713x2471
• Size: 909.4 KB
• Location: PACIFIC OCEAN