Lt. j.g. Carlee Anderson, a native of Roanoke, Virginia, serves aboard USS Fitzgerald, 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.
Anderson graduated from William Byrd High School in 2014 and the Virginia Military Institute in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in English.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Roanoke.
“I learned the world is a very big place and I come from a small town where everyone knows everyone, but it taught me to treat everyone kindly and stay true to yourself,” said Anderson. “In the Navy, there is a lot of expectation to be a certain way by acting seriously and professionally, but staying true to myself helps me with my Sailors when it comes to understanding them and what they go through.”
Anderson joined the Navy four years ago. Today, Anderson serves as the ship’s training officer.
“I joined to serve my country and be part of the world’s greatest Navy,” said Anderson. “Being in the Navy has also given me the chance to see the world. I’ve been to six different countries so far. Sri Lanka was my favorite.”
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.
Anderson plays an important role in the exercise.
“I am one of the RIMPAC coordinators on board and it is so amazing and a special opportunity to meet the Sailors from other countries,” said Anderson. “We are very lucky to have this opportunity.”
Anderson 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 is an incredible honor,” said Anderson. “I get to meet some incredible people and shoulder a lot of responsibility, and I consider it a privilege.”
Anderson is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank my parents, Brian and Nancy,” added Anderson. “Starting in my senior year of high school they were my biggest advocates to join the Virginia Military Institute and they never waiver in their support. I also want to thank my husband, Lt. Matthew McGee, who is stationed in San Diego. He has been so understanding of my career and the time I have to spend away from home. We support each other across time zones and he is my sounding board for any questions I have about leadership.”
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/