(Photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward)
A 2001 Hialeah High School graduate and Miami native provides key support as part of combat operations aboard Littoral Combat Squadron 2, stationed at Naval Station Mayport (Florida).
Chief Petty Officer Rendel Cano serves as a hospital corpsman responsible for taking care of patients, medical programs and administration for the hospital.
Cano credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in Miami.
“I learned to drive hard with your goals and help everyone come up with you,” Cano said. “Leadership isn’t a position, it’s your actions and character. I had many good mentors who taught me to be humble.”
LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused- platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
The ship’s technological benefits allow for swapping mission packages quickly, meaning sailors can support multiple missions, such as surface warfare, mine warfare, or anti-submarine warfare. Designed to defeat threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft, littoral combat ships are a bold departure from traditional Navy shipbuilding programs. The LCS sustainment strategy was developed to take into account the unique design and manning of LCS and its associated mission modules.
According to Navy officials, the path to becoming an LCS sailor is a long one. Following an 18-month training pipeline, sailors have to qualify on a simulator that is nearly identical to the ship. This intense and realistic training pipeline allows sailors to execute their roles and responsibilities immediately upon stepping onboard.
Cano is now a part of a long-standing tradition of serving in the Navy our nation needs.
“I am proud to represent my family in the Navy,” Cano said. “My parents weren’t from this country originally. They taught me to have pride in my country.”
Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community and career, Cano is most proud of earning the rank of chief petty officer.
“I am very proud about becoming a chief petty officer and seeing my junior sailors thrive because of my leadership and guidance,” he said.
Cano is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon capital assets, Cano and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
Serving in the Navy, Cano is learning about being a more respectable leader, sailor and person through handling numerous responsibilities.
“Serving in the Navy means I have pride and honor,” he said. “I’m putting something greater than myself in front of my own wants and needs.”
