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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Wednesday, June 26, 2002

War practice opens with planning

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

PEARL HARBOR — Rim of the Pacific naval exercises officially opened yesterday with the ongoing war on terrorism as a backdrop and a U.S. Navy commander's emphasis on safety as war games involving eight nations, 11,000 sailors, 36 ships and 26 aircraft are set to begin.

"Safety should be our primary focus," Rear Adm. Jack Hines Jr., the acting RIMPAC combined task force commander, told senior officers taking part in the exercises running through July 22 off Hawai'i.

"We're all doing peacetime training here — not combat operations," Hines said.

But Sept. 11 and the ongoing war on terrorism aren't too far from the thoughts of participating nations. Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, South Korea, Britain, the United States and Peru — a first-time participant — are involved in RIMPAC 2002, the largest military maritime exercise in the world.

The biennial exercise is about half the size of the last RIMPAC held in 2000, when 22,000 sailors, 50 ships and 200 aircraft participated. Commitments related to anti-terrorism efforts drove down this year's total. France was set to take part in the exercise, but bowed out late.

"This year I think it is especially important because of the 9/11 events," said Chilean Navy Cmdr. Cristian De La Maza, commander of the frigate Lynch. "It's good to say in black and white that we are friends, we can be allied, and we are working hard ... to participate in a good manner in support of the multinational force."

Rear Adm. Mark J. Edwards, commander of Cruiser-Destroyer Group Five and Nimitz Battle Group, said four of seven of the guest nations are participating in anti-terrorism missions.

"These are the ships, these are the officers, these are the men that we will be partnering with in the war on terrorism," Edwards said. "To get to know them and to get to operate with them now is very significant, very important to the U.S. Navy."

Planning sessions are being held this week. Some ships will begin getting under way tomorrow. U.S. and Japanese forces will be the first to leave port.

In the meantime, some sailors are seeing the sights. Some 117 South Korean sailors boarded two Robert's Hawaii buses yesterday for a tour of the island, and a similar number from another ship will repeat the trip today.