LCDR Scott Harrington sat in the wardroom of USS Chicago (SSN-721) with a big smile on his face, a look of relief perhaps. And why not? As Executive Officer, he and his crew had had their hands full this summer preparing for a change of command in addition to supporting Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2002, a major maritime exercise conducted in the waters off Hawaii, with maritime forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Peru, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. RIMPAC 2002 did not focus on the traditional carrier battle group scenario, but rather emphasized a heavy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) theme, while honing the tactical proficiency of participating units – surface combatants, submarines, tactical aircraft, and amphibious forces – in a wide variety of combined operations at sea. Chicago supported the Multinational Force (MNF) during the work-up or familiarization stage – 1 to 10 July – and
The Collins-class Australian Submarine HMAS Sheean (SSG-77) joins a flotilla off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, with numerous other international naval vessels.
FOCUSING ON in the tactical phase – 12 to 15 July. On the last two days of the tactical phase, Chicago switched roles to support the Opposing Force (OPFOR) for the simulated war on 16/17 July. In addition to Chicago, USS Key West (SSN-722) supported the Bilateral Force (BIF) during the work-up and tactical phases. Foreign navy submarine assets from Australia, Korea, and Japan also participated. Harrington noted that the goal of this RIMPAC was to exercise ASW tactics with the participating nations in both familiarization exercises and set scenarios. “This is where we went out and tried to be stealthy; doing approaches on other ships and allowing them to get a good look at us,” he said.
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F A L L 2 0 0 2 U N D E R S E A WA R FA R E
ASW
IN RIMPAC 2002 by JOCS(SW) Phil Eggman, USN
