Navy and Army team up at RIMPAC 2010
7 Jul 2010
The Commander of the Australian Defence Forces (ADF’s) contingent at the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC 2010) in Hawaii, Commodore (CDRE) Stuart Mayer CSC, RAN says the participation of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) is providing them with vital experience in a tri-service environment.
CDRE Mayer visited Australian contingents based at the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay shortly before they deployed for the amphibious phase of the RIMPAC exercise.
In an informal address to members of Bravo Company, 2RAR, Commodore Mayer urged the diggers to embrace the experience they were about to share with U.S. forces.
“RIMPAC is much more than a Navy exercise and the ADF has gone to a lot of effort to ensure all three services gain the advantage of working with our exercise partners, including, in your case, the U.S. Marines,” CDRE Mayer said.
“This is an exciting opportunity to exercise as a joint taskforce where all three services of the ADF are employed in complex environments that range from security tasking to high end war fighting.”
CDRE Mayer said that the ADF is working very hard to develop amphibious capability.
“When the Defence Force takes delivery of our new Landing Helicopter Dock amphibious ships, we will have the capability to deploy significant numbers of Army personnel. Most of you can expect to be rotated through postings to one of these ships.”
CDRE Mayer urged the diggers to not only benefit from the RIMPAC experience but to provide feedback through their chain of command.
“2 RAR is in the prime position to be our experience collectors and it is important to build on this over the next few years.”
The Canberra Class Amphibious Ship project will provide the Australian Defence Force with one of the most capable and sophisticated air-land-sea amphibious deployment systems in the world. The 27,000 tonne ships will be able to land a force of more than 1,100 personnel by helicopter and water craft, along with all their weapons, ammunition, vehicles and stores. The ships will support a fully equipped hospital and be able to carry up to 16 helicopters on a full length flight deck. The first ship is expected to commission into the Royal Australian Navy fleet in 2014.
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