A 2002 Marquette High School graduate and Ballwin, Missouri native is serving in the U.S. Navy as part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).
Chief Petty Officer Tyler Stone is a fire controlman aboard USS Lake Champlain, currently operating out of San Diego, California.
A Navy fire controlman is responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of the missile guidance systems on the ship.
Stone applies the lessons he learned from Ballwin to his work in the Navy.
“I learned my work ethic from home,” said Stone. “I worked for six years before joining the Navy and learned the value of putting the most effort to get the job done.”
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,” according to Navy officials. 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’m looking forward to training my junior and fellow enlisted sailors,” said Stone.
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.
“I’m most proud of making it to the rank of chief petty officer,” said Stone.
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, Stone and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“I have learned that I can work through a lot of stressful situations but enjoy the world at the same time,” said Stone. “I can also take care of business and the Navy has helped me with that.”
Additional information about RIMPAC is available at http://www.cpf.navy.mil.
