Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 24’s Maj
Robert Monroe, who served in the
Marine Air-Ground Task Force Hawaii
(MAGTF-HI) air planning cell for ‘RIMPAC’,
adds, ‘Interoperability between the
forces of participating nations is a huge
part of ‘RIMPAC’. This training will allow us
to better work together in future
exercises and a whole range of
operational missions.’
F/A-18Ds of VMFA(AW)-533 ‘Hawks’
participated in the ‘war at sea’ in
conjunction with the navy assets. Gall
continues, ‘Exercises like ‘RIMPAC’ o er
great opportunities for USMC forces to
work with nations we may not necessarily
encounter when deployed otherwise.
Literally being side-by-side during
planning and execution phases of an
operation enables us to level-set all
participants. We can compare di erent
viewpoints or theories behind our
respective methods, which provides us an
ability to develop a common ground as
we move towards more complex and
integrated events and operations.’Phases of the exercise
‘RIMPAC’ is split into three distinct
phases. It begins with the various ships
arriving in Pearl Harbor, before they set
sail for force integration training (FIT).
The phase is split into multiple smaller
exercises, such as amphibious assaults
where a combined force would take a
beach. It also included a humanitarian
assistance/disaster relief (HADR)
element, which included Japanese and
US Navy MH-60 helicopters working
side-by-side, for example.
One of the aviation highlights of
proceedings was a ‘SINKEX’, a live- re
exercise with the objective of scuttling a
decommissioned ship, a regular feature
of ‘RIMPAC’. This year’s edition saw two
such events, the rst involving a Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A ring an
ATM-84J Harpoon missile for the rst
time. Australian P-8 pilot Flt Lt Angus
Wheeler said, ‘Firing the ATM-84
Harpoon takes us one step closer to full
operational capability of the P-8
Poseidon.’HORNET’SLEGACYVFA-113 ‘Stingers’ was the rst eet US
Navy F/A-18A Hornet unit. It formed
in October 1983 for the Paci c Fleet
and rst deployed in February 1985
aboard USS Constellation alongside
VFA-25 as part of CVW-14. VFA-82
‘Marauders’ was the initial eet
squadron with the F/A-18C when it
converted from the A-7E Corsair II in
July 1987.
The navy accelerated its strike
ghter transition to the F/A-18E/F as
a cost-cutting measure, transferring
its best remaining C-models to the
Marine Corps. Fleet units VFA-34,
VFA-37, VFA-83 and VFA-131 are all
transitioning to the Super Hornet by
the end of 2019. Reserve unit VFA-204
‘River Rattlers’ at NAS New Orleans JRB
is retiring its F/A-18A++ jets in favor
of F/A-18Cs.Above left: Both
wearing Joint
Helmet-Mounted
Cueing System
headgear, an
EA-18G crew
readies for a
‘RIMPAC’ mission.
Right: HMH-463
‘Pegasus’ is
based at MCAS
Kaneohe Bay,
Hawaii, and is
now equipped
with the CH-53E.
Below: Last call
for the ‘Blue
Blasters’ — the
squadron became
the fi nal US Navy
fl eet unit to deploy
with the F/A-18C.74 November 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
EXERCISE REPORT // RIMPAC