Photo Gallery Summer 2001.html

Our forward deployed assets are employed in such activities as opening new ports, such as the Changi pier in Singapore, and revisiting old ones such as Qingdao in China, as well as conducting navy-to-navy staff talks with our regional navies to ensure mutual understanding and cooperation. Our forward deployed forces routinely participate in bilateral and multilateral exercises to act as a facilitator for confidence building measures among our friends and allies. The Commander, Seventh Fleet consistently and constantly reassures our friends and allies within the theater that our maritime forces are trained, able and ready to respond to any security scenario. Thus, such engagement efforts ensure an opportunity to maintain and achieve peace within the region, and build upon the concepts of collective security.

In a vast maritime theater, U.S. Pacific Fleet ships patrol approximately half the world’s sea surface. A USS Squall (PC-7) gunner’s mate mans his MK96 25mm gun for a live-fire exercise during RIMPAC 2000.

Photo by PH1(NAC) Chris Desmond, USN

Illustrating the depth and scope of Pacific Fleet naval presence in the region are the myriad activities and number of countries engaged on a routine basis. There are over 125 joint and combined exercises conducted with our friends and allies each year. The Pacific Fleet’s ships conduct more than 700 port visits throughout the region for crew liberty, periodic maintenance, and theater engagement purposes.

One of the cornerstones of maintaining a ready, combat force and capability is the Pacific Fleet’s robust exercise program. There are three objectives to be attained in this arena: the training of our naval forces in maritime and joint environments, field testing innovative concepts and tactics through fleet battle lab experiments pursuing commonality through combined exercises, and establishing interoperability between the U. S. and regional countries in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and search and rescue. Such an ambitious effort allows a stair-step approach in building forces that are trained and ready to respond. This training effort permits our forces to progress through basic, intermediate, and advanced tactical scenarios of greater complexity that reflects a force that is confident, capable and prepared. We view this process as a “crawl, walk, run evolution.” This training effort permits our forces to be actively engaged in a robust training environment that is composed of various building blocks of operational difficulty and complexity.

Among these 125 exercises are ULCHI FOCUS LENS and FOAL EAGLE in Korea; KEEN EDGE/SWORD and ANNUALEX in Japan; coupled with additional training in TEMPEST EXPRESS, TEMPO BRAVE and TANDEM THRUST/COBRA GOLD; and an overarching training concept included in Exercise TEAM CHALLENGE. Such a training effort allows Pacific Fleet forces to always be training, so that they can always be ready for emergent employment and prosecution of a diverse menu list of actions.

In addition, the COOPERATION AFLOAT READINESS AND TRAINING (CARAT) series of exercises are particularly important as we engage our friends and allies within the Asia-Pacific Region. This exercise series is a bilateral effort among our Southeast Asia partners and is tailored to the requirements of the host country’ goals and objectives. CARAT covers a wide range of activities that range from cruiser-destroyer and amphibious exercises at sea to humanitarian civic assistance and community relations projects ashore. Imbedded within the CARAT exercise are various events that include medical and dental activities to improve the health and welfare of individuals in need of such services. Such activities have been extraordinarily well received and have enhanced the image of our forces to reflect their humanitarian nature. Again, a small point, but one that has a major, positive impact in our engagement efforts within the Asia-Pacific Rim and one that leaves behind lasting memories of our naval forces interaction with the people of these countries.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet engages with allied and friendly countries on many levels. Malaysian soldiers tour the USS Germantown in Malaysia.

Official U.S. Navy Photo

During the year 2000, a number of Pacific Fleet ships contributed to the worldwide U.S. naval mission. In January, three ships based in Yokosuka: the destroyers Cushing, Gary, and John S. McCain left the Pacific to deploy to the Persian Gulf to assist the United Nations in enforcing United Nations sanctions by verifying the cargo of hundreds of ships passing through Middle East ports. Also, the amphibious assault ship Essex replaced Belleau Wood in Sasebo, Japan to ensure the most highly trained, capable amphibious platform available was located in the region.

East Timor

In situations such as the East Timorese transition to independence, the Pacific Fleet can provide tangible support through medical assistance teams, construction support and other humanitarian/civic assistance programs. Importantly, it can also provide rotational presence operations such as ship visits without establishing a long-term base of operations ashore.

In East Timor, for example, the 3rd Naval Construction Battalion, Pacific Fleet’s “Seabees,” completed repairs to schoolhouses and other sites. In early 2001, the Pacific Division of the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command deployed a six-person team to develop water supply and distribution projects for future Seabee deployments.