Local sailor works alongside Japanese, South Korean forces in major Pacific training

A young sailor from Seattle found himself in the middle of an important international training mission this month, working alongside Japanese and South Korean naval forces in the Pacific Ocean.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Rowan Young was right in the action Tuesday, practicing emergency medical procedures aboard a Japanese helicopter destroyer during Freedom Edge 25, a three-nation maritime exercise.

Young, who serves on the USS Curtis Wilbur, demonstrated his medical training by inserting an IV into a simulated casualty in the medical bay of Japan’s JS Hyuga.

According to a release from the US Navy, this kind of hands-on cooperation shows what these exercises aim to accomplish: making sure American, Japanese, and South Korean forces can work together smoothly when real emergencies happen at sea.

Seattle sailor joins Pacific allies for critical medical drill

For Young, it’s a long way from Seattle to the waters of the Indo-Pacific, where his ship operates as part of the Navy’s largest destroyer squadron. The Navy says the medical evacuation drill he participated in highlights how sailors from hometown America play crucial roles in maintaining peace and stability in one of the world’s most important regions.

According to the Department of Defense, trilateral exercises like these help build trust and coordination between allied nations working toward shared security goals in the Pacific. Young’s destroyer, the Curtis Wilbur, serves as part of the 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.