INDEX - MILITARY
www.islandbreath.org ID# 0817-21
SUBJECT: RIMPAC 2008SOURCE: LISA LONG angelsfortruth@earthlink.net
POSTED: 2 JULY 2008 - 8:00am EST
Forces fired up for large exercise off Hawaii
image above: The Korean submarine Lee Sunsin (SSK 068) arrives at Naval Station Pearl Harbor May 28th,
becoming the first foreign vessel to arrive to take part in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Luciano Marano.
by Rob Shaw on 29 June 2008 in www.canada.com
Warships from CFB Esquimalt, along with a host of Canadian soldiers and air force personnel, will fire their weapons at derelict ships and a virtual island as part of an international training exercise in Hawaii which started during the weekend.
The live-fire opportunities - which include a massive beach-landing scenario where soldiers will be equipped with laser guns and sensors - are part of the largest international maritime training event in the world, called the Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC. The event is held every two years off the Hawaiian coast and brings together such countries as the United States, Canada, Chile, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
Canada has sent two frigates - HMCS Regina and HMCS Ottawa - along with 150 soldiers, six CF-18 jets, two Aurora patrol planes, a refuelling tanker and a Sea King helicopter to the exercise.
"The challenge and the value of RIMPAC is bringing (countries) all together to find out what is common about our procedures and build upon those commonalties, so that when later we meet at sea in context of a real operation, we have that experience of working together," said Commodore Nigel Greenwood, who commands the Canadian Pacific Fleet at CFB Esquimalt and who will be sea-combat commander of the Hawaii exercise.
RIMPAC starts with scripted exercises, where planes and ships use American live-firing ranges for target practice.
For some of Canada's newest CF-18 Hornet fighter pilots, it means their first chance to fire live missiles and fly in skies with more than 50 to 60 other airplanes at a time.
The Americans also have three decommissioned ships that other countries can sink for practice. As well, the U.S. has set up a virtual island using ocean acoustic devices, so that ships can practise firing at land-based gun encampments while still sailing on the ocean. The sensors determine where the shots landed on the virtual island.
Along with naval and air equipment, Canada is sending 150 soldiers who specialize in evacuating people from hostile environments. They will join more than 1,000 other soldiers in practising beach landings, while naval ships and air force planes and helicopters provide cover. Their guns will have laser markers and the soldiers will wear sensors to determine where they were hit and the type of injury.
The nations at war with the Pacific Ocean
by Juan Wilson on 2 July 2008
According to http://www.seawaves.com/RIMPAC2008.htm the following countries and ships are participating in this years "war games" taking place in the Pacific. RIMPAC 2008 is on, and the ocean and its inhabitants are the victims.Note that although it is not a direct participant this year, the Superferry Alakai is a member of the US Military Sealift Command, aw a requirement of its funding by the Maratime Administration.
US Navy
USS Kitty Hawk CV 63
USS Lake Erie CG 70
USS Port Royal CG 73
USS Los Angeles SSN 688
USS Key West SSN 722
USS Santa Fe SSN 763
USS Bonhomme Richard LHD 6
USS Comstock LSD 45
USS Pinckney DDG 91
USS Chung-Hoon DDG 93
USS Paul Hamilton DDG 60
USS O'Kane DDG 77
USS Milius DDG 69
USS Reuben James FFG 57
USS Rodney M Davis FFG 61US Coast Guard
USCGC Rush WHEC 723
USCGC Kiska WPB 1336US Military Sealift Command
USNS Salvor T-ARS 52
SS Cape Gibson T-AK 5051
USNS Guadalupe T-AO 200
USNS Sumner T-AGS 61
USNS Able T-AGOS 20
USNS Sioux T-ATF 171
USNS Navajo T-ATF 169
USNS Yukon T-AO 202US Target Ships
Ex-USS David R Ray DD 971
Ex-USS Horne DLG/CG 30Japan
JDS Makinami DD 112
JDS Haruna DDH 141
JDS Setogiri DD 156
JDS Kirishima DDG 174
JDS Narushio SS 595
Peru
BAP Quiñones FM 58
Russia
RFS TBA
Australia
HMAS Anzac FFH 150
HMAS Tobruk L 60
HMAS Success AOR 304
HMAS Waller SSG 75Singapore
RSS Steadfast 70Canada
HMCS Ottawa FFH 341
HMCS Regina FFG 334South Korea
KDS Moonmu Daewang DDG 976
KDS Yangmanchun DDH 973
KDS Lee Sunsin SSK 68Chile
CNS Almirante Riveros FF 18
CNS O'Higgins SS 22
see also:
Island Breath: PIMPAC 2006 7/9/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 impact 5/23/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2004 Strandings 9/2/04