Logistics, medical, HADR key components of RIMPAC 2024

FORUM Staff

Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the world’s largest international maritime exercise with more than 40 ships and 25,000 personnel from 29 nations, includes its biggest humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) drill in 2024, plus symposiums on logistics and medicine.

The HADR portion included 2,500 participants from nine nations — Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, South Korea and the United States — encompassing land forces, five landing craft and five aircraft. Training focused on urban search and rescue operations, mass casualty response, mass movement of evacuees, aerial survey, port restoration, and logistical support.

“I am confident to say that we have enhanced integration, interoperability with global maritime partners and demonstrated effective communication,” Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Rear Adm. Kazushi Yokota, who led the HADR exercise, said in a statement. “We prepared and exercised crisis response capabilities amongst interagency partners by working together, growing together and learning from each other’s professionalism.”

Personnel built a helicopter landing zone, removed downed trees, assessed bridge durability, ensured a drinking water supply and used uncrewed aerial vehicles to survey damage.

“Training with our multinational partners strengthens our ability to operate together. That’s what RIMPAC is all about,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Douglas Whimpey, deputy commander of the HADR task force.

Drill support was provided by the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, the Pacific Disaster Center, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management, and Singapore’s Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre.

The biennial RIMPAC began June 27 and fosters cooperative relationships and interoperability critical to ensuring a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and the safety and security of global sea lanes.

Among the highlights of RIMPAC’s first phase:

• Supply officers and logistics specialists from all 29 countries conducted a workshop to coordinate exercise activities. Topics included replenishing supplies at sea, properly handling refuse to meet local regulations in Hawaii and the importance of coordinating with RIMPAC’s multinational logistics support element — a rotating team of Sailors from partner nations. “It is a real team effort,” said Indonesian Navy Ensign Salma Zakaria, supply officer for the frigate KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata. “This is my second RIMPAC, and just like last time, all the nations and participants have been great to work with.”
• A symposium titled “Tyranny of Distance: Closing the Gap” focused on military medical professionals tackling operational challenges in the maritime domain. “The vision is to augment capabilities and competence in each surgeon, and most importantly, inspire trust from our warfighters that they will receive exceptional care in the most demanding environments, and the mission is to generate a ready medical force to enhance warfighter survivability,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Daniel Hammer, director of the Naval Medical Center San Diego Maxillofacial Restorative Surgery Platform.
• More than 150 people attended an international chaplaincy symposium, including keynote speaker Rashad Hussain, U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. “It is critical to be clear about where we stand,” Hussain said. “It is critical for us to live out our values and show our values. Being authentic in who you are and being sincere in who you are every single day for those who come to you, those who you interact with in your local communities, does so much to promote our promise.”

RIMPAC’s 29th iteration, which concludes August 1, also includes 14 land forces and about 170 aircraft. Belgium and Brazil are new participants in 2024 and observers include Greece, Poland and Spain. Other participants include Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Tonga. The event, hosted by the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, is held in and around the Hawaiian Islands.

“By joining bilateral and multilateral exercises such as Exercise RIMPAC we get to meet our counterparts from every corner of the world and we get to share our knowledge and share best practices,” said Royal Brunei Navy Lt. j.g. Majidah Zakaria. “So, I think the knowledge and experiences from Exercise RIMPAC is definitely unmatched.”