BARKING SANDS — Capt. Bruce Hay, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, said Rim of the Pacific — the biennial international military war exercise — demonstrates that the United States and other countries involved are not separated by the
BARKING SANDS — Capt. Bruce Hay, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, said Rim of the Pacific — the biennial international military war exercise — demonstrates that the United States and other countries involved are not separated by the ocean, but connected by it.
And when the 24th maritime exercise gets underway in late June, the action will happen in Kauai’s backyard.
“Starting at the end of next month, a lot of people from all over the globe are going to come into Oahu, and they’re going to have parties and do sporting events and everything — blow a lot of money on Oahu. But the cool stuff is going to happen out here,” Hay told a crowd at the Military Appreciation Luncheon Wednesday at PMRF.
Hay was referring specifically to the open water and airspace northwest of the base on Kauai’s Westside. The drills will last from June 26 to Aug. 1 and take place in the Hawaii Operating Area and several off-shore ranges, including PMRF’s.
Rear Adm. Richard Williams Jr., commander of Navy Region Hawaii, said there is no better place in the world to “put the band together” — the way the Navy’s U.S. Pacific Fleet will do during RIMPAC — than in PMRF’s range.
“We’re going to have 43 ships from 23 different countries participating in this, with a lot of their aircraft, a lot of their staff, a lot of submarines,” he said. “They’re all coming to Pearl Harbor and to Hawaii. And as Flounder (Capt. Hay) said, right here at Barking Sands. This is where a lot of the exciting stuff is going to take place.”
As it has in the past, PMRF will provide subsurface, surface and air training range capabilities for RIMPAC. Ships, submarines and aircraft will train on an instrumented range free of encroachment limitations offshore of Kauai, according to Stefan Alford, the base’s public affairs officer.
Williams said what makes PMRF’s range special is its size. There are over 1,100 square miles of instrumented underwater range and over 42,000 square miles of controlled airspace.
“It’s bigger than any other range in the world,” he said.
About 500 PMRF employees are expected to be engaged in supporting this year’s exercise, and the base has three C-26 aircraft and two Croman-contracted Sikorsky S-61N helicopters available to support as necessary. There will be an increase in aviation activity with helicopters and aircraft from Oahu transiting over PMRF, and Navy vessels may be observed at the horizon approximately 20-25 miles off shore, according to Alford.
In addition to dozens of ships, there will be six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel participating.
Williams talked about the importance of RIMPAC as a show of force, strength and strategic partnership.
“To let our friends know that we got their backs, we’re there, we’re here to support them,” he said.
As technology continues to advance and the range of weapons grows, Hay said more space is needed for testing. While the Hawaii Operating Area consists of 235,000 square miles (nearly the size of Texas), the extended Temporary Operating Area includes 2.1 million square miles and extends all the way to Wake Island.
“That’s pretty impressive. Our ability to train like we would fight exists here,” Hay said. “Space matters. We can build buildings like Aegis Ashore, or runways or some other things, but we’re never going to be able to replicate what we have out here. And that makes this place special.”
For the last 20 years or so, the Navy has resorted to the desert for a lot of its training and testing, according to Hay.
“Well, we’re coming back,” he said. “The band’s coming back to the Pacific and our Marines and our Air Force and our Army need places to train.”
In addition to RIMPAC, Hay said there will be a lot of activity out at PMRF this summer — from rocket launches and Boeing V-22 Ospreys flying around to NASA’s test flight in early June of the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator, a saucer-shaped rocket designed for future missions to Mars.
“In between all the other cool stuff, like rockets and balloons and all the other stuff, you’re going to see a steady drum beat of our brothers and sisters in arms coming here to Kauai,” he said. “It’s a good thing for Kauai and it’s a good thing for PMRF, or IPRF (Inouye Pacific Range Facility).”
• Chris D’Angelo, environment writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cdangelo@thegardenisland.com.
