Ho'okele - July 6, 2018 (Pearl Harbor-Hickam Newspaper)

What’s INSIDE

July 6, 2018

Mahalo JBPHH ohana! See page A-3 JBPHH celebrates American independence See page B-1

Photo by Canadian Armed Forces Sgt. Devin VandeSype

RIMPAC activities abound See page A-2, A-5, B-2, B-3

www.issuu.com/navyregionhawaii www.hookelenews.com

Volume 9 Issue 26

US Navy commences 26th RIMPAC exercise

Photo by Canadian Armed Forces Imagery Technician Cpl. Trevor Matheson

U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. John C. Aquilino and Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, Vice Adm. John D. Ale x a n d e r, a n n o u n c e d June 27 the start of the world’s largest international maritime exercise, the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), scheduled through Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. Twenty-five nations,

more than 45 surface ships and submarines, 17 national land forces, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are taking part in a unique training opportunity designed to foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s interconnected oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in a series that began in 1971. “RIMPAC is not only the world’s largest international maritime exer-

cise, it also shows that like-minded nations who value a free and open Indo-Pacific want this opportunity to improve our cooperation with each other,” Aquilino said. The theme of RIMPAC 2018 is “Capable, Adaptive, Partners.” Participating nations and forces will 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, explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations. Alexander emphasized the importance of building relationships among international maritime partners by conducting exercises such as RIMPAC. “We are all maritime nations,” Alexander said.

“We all prosper through trade and the majority of the trade goes through the Indo-Pacific region.” “This is an opportunity to build relationships ahead of a crisis,” he said. This enables us to call our friends, partners and allies to work together to provide disaster relief, combat piracy, or a wide range of maritime contingency operations. This year’s exercise includes forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia,

Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. “There are different uniforms, different faces and different cultures, but we share a common purpose here at RIMPAC,” Aquilino said. “I want to thank all the participating nations for sending forces to be a part of RIMPAC.”

RIMPAC ship tour schedule announced U.S. 3rd Fleet Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise 2018 participants, military and Department of Defense ID cardholders and their sponsored guests are welcome to tour visiting U.S. and foreign ships on Sat-

urday, July 7 from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. A schedule of participating ships and locations will be made available upon entry at the gates on July 7. For safety reasons, guests must be independently mobile and able to walk and climb ladder

wells, and should wear covered shoes (no heels or slippers). Do not carry bags on the tours, and photography will be limited to the immediate area and on board the ship during the tour as permitted by the respective ships’ commanding officers.

The following ships are available for tours* Saturday, July 7: • BAP Ferre (DM 74, Peru) • BRP Davao Del Sur (LD 602, Philippines) • CNS Almirante Lynch (FF 07, Chile) • HMAS Toowoomba (FFH 156, Australia) • HMAS Melbourne (FFG 05, Australia) • HMAS Adelaide (L 01, Australia) • HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341, Canada)

• HMNZS Te Mana (F 111, New Zealand) • INS Sahyadri (F 47, India) • JS Ise (DDH 182, Japan) • ROKS Dae Jo Yeong (DDG 997, South Korea) • RSS Tenacious (71, Singapore) • Various participating U.S. ships *Tours are subject to change.

For more information, contact the RIMPAC Combined Information Bureau at 472-5430.

International ships participating in the 2018 RIMPAC exercise moor at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, July 2. U.S. Navy photo by MC1 Arthurgwain L. Marquez

Navy joins team to promote safety Story and photo by Bill Doughty Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs On the eve of Independence Day, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell invited Rear Adm. Brian Fort, commander, Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, to participate – along with other city and county agencies – in a safety message to the community in a press conference at Honolulu Police Department (HPD) headquarters. Participants addressed proactive and preventative safety initiatives during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise currently underway. In a press conference attended by first responders HPD, Emergency Medical Services, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) and other agencies, Caldwell told local media, “Right now we have 25 nations ... 25,000 members of different armed forces ... on is-

land enjoying the best of Hawaii, something we’re very proud of. We want to show aloha to the members of the military while they’re here and those who are visiting.” Both Caldwell and Fort noted that many RIMPAC participants bring families. “We want to thank the state of Hawaii for hosting the RIMPAC exercise and welcoming the sailors from all the nations,” Fort said. “We actually have families who arrive here with many of the sailors ... Many will come back at the end of the exercise.” In the first week of RIMPAC, participants are able to go hiking, enjoy the beaches, compete in sporting events and join in July 4th celebrations, including those held Wednesday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. In his remarks, Fort noted that all RIMPAC participants receive extensive safety briefings and cultural awareness information.

> See page A-2