RIMPAC

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group along with ships from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, and South Korea travel towards Honolulu in RIMPAC 2000.

Chilean Navy special forces sailors seen here using the MP5N in RIMPAC 2008.

RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially (every even year), it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of the Governor of Hawaii also involved. Also invited are allied military forces from the Pacific Rim nations. The event is held biennially in June and July in Honolulu, Hawaii, under the leadership of the United States Pacific Command, headquartered at the Nimitz-MacArthur Pacific Command Center at Camp H. M. Smith near the Honolulu subdivision of Salt Lake. With RIMPAC the United States Pacific Command seeks to enhance interoperability between Pacific Rim armed forces, as a means of promoting stability in the region to the benefit of all participating nations. The exercises are viewed as key to military readiness,^{[citation needed]} as Pacific Rim nations face several "hot spots" of potential armed conflict, such as:

• Threats from the People's Republic of China to invade Taiwan in the event of its declaration of independence.
• Threats from North Korea against South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

Participants

Regular RIMPAC participants (dark blue) and usual observers (light blue).

The first RIMPAC, held in 1971, involved forces from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The United States, Canada and Australia have participated in every RIMPAC since 1971. Regular participants are Japan, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, France, Thailand, Singapore, Malyasia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Several observer nations are invited, including, but not limited to, New Zealand, the Philippines, Ecuador, Mexico, India, China and Russia. While not contributing any ships, observer nations are involved in RIMPAC at the strategic level and use the opportunity to prepare for possible full participation in the future.

The United States contingent alone may include an aircraft carrier strike group, submarines, up to a hundred aircraft and 20,000 Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and their respective officers. The size of the exercises varies from year to year.

RIMPAC 2004 included 40 ships, seven submarines, 100 aircraft, and nearly 18,000 military personnel from seven nations. RIMPAC 2004 focused on multinational training while building trust and cooperation among the participating naval partners. Rear Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, Commander Carrier Group Seven, served as Multinational Task Force Commander aboard USS John C. Stennis.

RIMPAC 2010

RIMPAC 2010

Sea Combat Control (19 July 2010)

On 23 June 2010, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Patrick M. Walsh and Combined Task Force commander Vice Admiral Richard W. Hunt announced the official start of the month-long 2010 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise during a press conference held in Lockwood Hall at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. RIMPAC 2010 was the 22nd exercise in the series that originated in 1971. The exercise was designed to increase the operational and tactical proficiency of participating units in a wide array of maritime operations by enhancing military-to-military relations and interoperability. Thirty-two ships, five submarines, over 170 aircraft, and 20,000 personnel participated in RIMPAC 2010, the world's largest multi-national maritime exercise.

RIMPAC 2010 brought together units and personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States. During the exercise, participating countries conducted gunnery, missile, anti-submarine, and air defense exercises, as well as maritime interdiction and vessel boarding, explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations, mine clearance operations, and an amphibious landing. RIMPAC 2010 will also emphasize littoral operations with ships like U.S. littoral combat ship Freedom, the French frigate Prairial, and the Singapore frigate Supreme.

On 28 June 2010, the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan arrived in Pearl Harbor to participate in RIMPAC 2010. Ronald Reagan was the only aircraft carrier to participate in this exercise. During the in-port phase of RIMPAC, officers and crew of the 14 participating navies interact in receptions, meetings, and athletic events. The Reagan completed its Tailored Ships Training Availability (TSTA) exercises prior to RIMPAC 2010.

During 6–7 July 2010, 32 naval vessels and five submarines from seven nations departed Pearl Harbor to participate in the Phase II of RIMPAC 2010. This phase included live fire gunnery and missile exercises; maritime interdiction and vessel boardings; and anti-surface warfare, undersea warfare, naval maneuvers and air defense exercises. Participants also collaborated in explosive ordnance disposal; diving and salvage operations; mine clearance operations; and amphibious operations. Phase III involved scenario-driven exercises designed to further strengthen maritime skills and capabilities.

During RIMPAC 2010, over 40 naval personnel from Singapore, Japan, Australia, Chile, Peru, and Colombia managed combat exercises while serving aboard the Ronald Reagan (pictured). This involved managing anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare for Carrier Strike Group Seven and the entire RIMPAC force, including the use of radar, charts, and high-tech devices to monitor, chart, and communicate with other ships and submarines. Tactical action officers from the different countries coordinated the overall operational picture and provided direction and administration to the enlisted personnel involved in the Sea Combat Control (SCC) activities. Also, Reagan conducted a live Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launch, firing at a simulated target, the first since 2007.

On 30 July 2010, RIMPAC 2010 concluded with a press conference held at Merry Point Landing on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. A reception for over 1,500 participants, distinguished visitors and special guests was held in the hangar bays of the carrier Reagan.

During RIMPAC 2010, participating countries conducted three sinking exercises (SINKEX) involving 140 discrete live-fire events that included 30 surface-to-air engagements, 40 air-to-air missile engagements, 12 surface-to-surface engagements, 76 laser-guided bombs, and more than 1,000 rounds of naval gunfire from 20 surface combatant warships. Units flew more than 3100 air sorties, completed numerous maritime interdiction and vessel boardings, explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations and mine clearance operations and 10 major experiments, with the major one being the U.S. Marine Corps Enhanced Company Operations experiment. Ground forces from five countries completed five amphibious landings, including nine helicopter-borne amphibious landings and 560 troops from ship-to-shore mission. In all, 960 different training events were schedule and 96 percent were completed in all areas of the Hawaiian operations area, encompassing Kāneʻohe Bay, Bellows Air Force Station, the Pacific Missile Range Facility, and the Pohakuloa Training Area.

Experiments

Marines from Kaneohe Bay conducting an amphibious landing in RIMPAC 2004.

USS Key West (SSN-722) at periscope depth, RIMPAC 2004

Participants have conducted exercises in ship-sinking and torpedo usage. They also have tested new naval vessels and technology. For example in 2004, the United States Navy tested the Australian built HSV-2 Swift, a 321-foot experimental wave-piercing catamaran that draws only 11 feet of water, has a top speed of almost 50 knots, and can transport 605 tons of cargo.

External links

• United States Pacific Command
• Commander, U.S. Third Fleet
• RIMPAC 2000 Photo Album
• RIMPAC 2006 Photo Album