RIMPAC 2010 USAF Airmen prepare for international maritime exercise

  • Published
  • 13th Air Force Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii --  The 613th Air and Space Operations Center here will serve as the central hub for data and voice communications during the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise, June 23 through August 1.

The state-of-the-art facility will enable a multinational team to provide command and control of air and space assets during RIMPAC, the world's largest international maritime exercise.

"The 613th AOC is equipped to ensure the flow of information between all the exercise's players," said Brig. Gen. Thomas Harwood III, mobilization assistant to the commander, Thirteenth Air Force, and the combined forces air component commander for RIMPAC 2010.

RIMPAC 2010 employs more than 20,000 personnel from 14 nations, over 100 aircraft, 34 ships and five submarines. This year's exercise includes units or personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.

"The exercise is designed to increase tactical proficiency of participating units in a wide array of combined operations at sea to include our air component flying a variety of sorties involving fighter aircraft, bombers, tankers, electronic warfare, command and control, and airlift," the general said.

U.S. Air Force aircraft participating in RIMPAC include B-52 Stratofortresses, C-17 Globemaster IIIs, E-3 Sentries, F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, KC-135 Stratotankers, HC-130 Hercules, and HH-60 Pave Hawks.

Hosted by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, RIMPAC is the 22nd in a series of significant international multilateral combined and joint military exercises scheduled biennially and demonstrates a commitment to working with global partners in guarding the sea lanes of commerce and communication, protecting national interests abroad and ensuring freedom of navigation as a basis for global peace and prosperity.

"RIMPAC provides an excellent opportunity for our Airmen to sharpen their warfighting skills while increasing interoperability with our joint and global partners. We are building relationships that will help promote security across the region," said General Harwood.

Participating U.S. Air Force units include the 20th Bomb Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; the 194th Fighter Squadron from the California Air National Guard; the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Eglin AFB, Fla.; 13th Air Force, the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron, the 535th Airlift Squadron, the 169th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and the 199th Fighter Squadron from the Hawaii Air National Guard all from Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii; the 44th Fighter Squadron from Kadena Air Base, Japan; the 964th Airborne Control Squadron, the 970th Airborne Control Squadron, the 513th Air Control Group, the 465th Air Refueling Squadron from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.; the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron from Nellis AFB, Nev.; and the 39th and 301st Rescue Squadrons from Patrick AFB, Fla.

Media interested in covering RIMPAC events should contact the RIMPAC Combined Information Bureau at (619) 726-1901. For more information on the exercise, visit www.c3f.navy.mil/rimpac_2010.