What is it all about?
Pearl Harbor, station of the IPD 24 Photo: Bundeswehr/Theska
The world's largest maritime manoeuvre began these days in the sea area around Hawaii Rim of the Pacific (Germany is involved with an air force contingent, a naval task force and personnel in the international staff. German participation is not only an expression of German foreign and security policy, it is also more than just maintaining and deepening partnerships with other armed forces and regional organisations: It is Germany's way of engaging in strategic communication, expressing its interest in contributing to the maintenance of the rules-based international order and asserting its relevance.
RIMPAC badge. Photo: Bundeswehr/Theska
RIMPAC is a multinational manoeuvre that takes place every two years and is organised by the US Navy. This year, 29 nations, around two dozen navies, over 25,000 soldiers, 40 ships and 3 submarines are taking part. There are also over 150 aeroplanes and helicopters, including Eurofighters from the German Air Force. The main activities are exercises in surface warfare, submarine hunting, amphibious operations, defence of aircraft carrier groups, as well as interception and control of civilian ships. A civil defence exercise is also integrated, which, with over 2,500 participants, is the largest in RIMPAC's more than forty-year history.
For the frigate "Baden-Württemberg" and the task force provider "Frankfurt am Main", participation in RIMPAC is part of the seven-month deployment, which also includes harbour visits to strategic partners and monitoring the United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
The navy's Indo-Pacific Deployment (IPD), entitled "Pacific Waves 24", has so far made few waves among the general public. With weekly logbook extracts, marineforum.online and Europäische Sicherheit und Technik want to improve public perception. We are kicking things off with the launch of RIMPAC.
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Logbook extract from a member of the Indo-Pacific Deployment 24/Pacific Waves 24 task force
Week 1 RIMPAC
Inlet Hawaii. Photo: Bundeswehr/Theska
Departure for the first week at sea. Even though Pearl Harbour was certainly a very hospitable port, there is a palpable sense of optimism not only among me, but also among the crews. We are ready to go! Now it's finally time to go to sea again and practice at sea with our international partners after the intensive harbour phase. Every sailor knows this feeling. The Commander of the Fleet and Support Forces, Vice Admiral Frank Lenski, and the Command Senior Enlisted Leader at the Rostock Naval Command, Chief Boatswain Lars Raabe, have recently joined the unit and will be setting sail with the FRANKFURT AM MAIN.
The exercise area is just as large as the exercise itself. An operational paradise for a Baltic and North Sea skipper. Plenty of space, hardly any commercial or pleasure craft traffic interferes with the exercise, and fishermen are the big exception.
Shortly after setting sail, we came to the unsurprising realisation that other navies were also following this superlative exercise with curiosity. As expected, reconnaissance ships from the Chinese People's Navy also appeared on our situation picture and showed great interest in the gathering of the many grey ships and their serials.
Our task group consists of the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS PRINCETOWN, an old friend, the Dutch frigate HNLMS TROMP, the Japanese frigate JS HAGURO and the flagship, our frigate BADEN WÜRTTEMBERG. The FRANKFURT AM MAIN, as a task group provider, is assigned to the logisticians of Force TG 173.1, but is allocated to our task group depending on the situation, and has already proved itself after a short time as a flexible and logistical all-purpose weapon for the organisation.
Briefing for Commander Fleet and Support Forces, VAdm Lenski. Photo: Bundeswehr/Theska
Like almost all large maritime exercises, RIMPAC starts with force integration training, which quickly proves to be very effective. The command structures must be established, reliable communication ensured and, above all, personal contacts and trust from the harbour phase must be consolidated and confirmed. Despite state-of-the-art technology, these attributes are still the most important building blocks for the coherence of an organisation and its success. In addition to safety in the organisation, which overrides everything else, this is the commander's top priority.
The highlight of the first few days was the so-called SINKEX. The entire unit was to fire from all guns and also use missiles and torpedoes to "push under water" the Hulk of the former landing ship USS TARAWA, which is also well known in our waters. A spectacular endeavour that the crews were very much looking forward to. Unfortunately, the devil was once again in the detail and the shooting had to be cancelled at short notice because the required "clear range" was not given due to a lone fisherman. This caused a noticeable disappointment among the troops. The news that this major event would be rescheduled was all the better.
RIMPAC - Departure USS Carl Vinson. Photo: Bundeswehr/Theska
The commander was also unable to take part in this section, which he had also been looking forward to, as he and his team had been flown out on an OSPREY via the aircraft carrier USS CARL VINSON in the meantime.
After a week at sea, we are now fully in the rhythm. Every day feels like a weekday and is packed with all kinds of serials. Artillery firing, air defence, submarine hunting and formation sailing are on the schedule, as are individual ship safety exercises, and make the days in the sea routine pass quickly.
Nevertheless - Starlink as a care communication system makes it possible: I am "grounded" via the phone calls with my loved ones at home and taken back to everyday life at home. And even the European Championship wasn't as far away as the other big tournaments I missed at sea. After the morning's staff situation on Sunday, I was even lucky enough to see the winning goal for the Spaniards, for whom I had my fingers crossed.
The second week of the "timetable" now lies ahead of us before we enter the TACEX and freeplay phase, in which we have to prove that we have laid the right foundations, can fulfil our mission and assert ourselves as an association. But more on that next week!
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