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Royal Brunei Armed Forces officers visit Headquarters, U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii during a Search and Rescue (SAR) exchange visit. L to R: Capt. (U) Matyussof bin Hj Matyassin, Training Officer, Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF) 4 Squadron; Maj. (U) Jofri bin Hj Abdullah, S02 G2/G3, HQ RBAF and head of delegation; Lt. Col. Neal Carbaugh, U.S. Pacific Command J3111 and host; Maj. Dale Weaver, USAF, Chief, Pacific Rescue Coordination Center; and Maj. (L) Jorsni bin Hj Lamat, S02 (SAR), Brunei Ministry of Defense. |
Four officers of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces visited Hawaii for 10 days in September 1999. Their purpose was to visit U.S. military Search and Rescue (SAR) organizations and review their capabilities and procedures. This was in exchange for an earlier visit to Brunei by U.S. Air Force SAR specialists from Hawaii-based Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).
In March 1999, Brunei’s Director of Civil Aviation and the Chief of the Pacific Rescue Coordination Center (PAC RCC), U.S. Air Force Maj. Dale E. Weaver, signed a SAR agreement. The agreement opened communications links for cooperation in the Pacific between SAR officials of the two countries. It established cooperative SAR procedures for responding to maritime vessels and aircraft in distress in the Brunei region.
The PAC RCC is responsible for coordinating all U.S. search and rescue activities in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The center, which is run by PACAF, operates on a 24-hour basis. It primarily supports U.S. military SAR needs, but also provides humanitarian assistance to other Asia-Pacific countries that have requested U.S. assistance.
