POLIHALE — Those gazing out to sea from Kauai’s western coast over the weekend likely caught a glimpse of the action. Rim of the Pacific, better known as RIMPAC, the world’s largest multi-national maritime war exercise, continued Saturday through Monday
POLIHALE — Those gazing out to sea from Kauai’s western coast over the weekend likely caught a glimpse of the action.
Rim of the Pacific, better known as RIMPAC, the world’s largest multi-national maritime war exercise, continued Saturday through Monday with heavy activity on, above and around Kauai — from helicopters and B-52 bombers flying overhead, to warships dotting the horizon and the sinking of a decommissioned Navy vessel.
Capt. Bruce Hay, commander of the Pacific Missile Range Facility, said RIMPAC 2014 has been progressing “exceedingly well” on the base’s ranges.
“It is rewarding to support the armed forces of the United States as well as other nations,” he wrote in a statement. “The ongoing operations at PMRF continue to be safe, professional and in compliance with all applicable regulations. We’re all going to be tired at the completion of this year’s RIMPAC.”
On Saturday, around noon, U.S. and multinational Marines descended at PMRF aboard several CH-53 helicopters and one MV-22 Osprey. It was part of an assault exercise to take back the airfield from enemy forces, PMRF spokesman Stefan Alford wrote in an email. A second company of marines participated in an identical exercise about an hour later using the same aircrafts.
Alford said the drills did not include actual engagement as they were designed to train marines’ egress procedures from helicopters.
From Polihale State Park on Saturday, observant campers and day-users stood and watched as Boeing B-52 bombers dropped dark-colored objects into the ocean just offshore, causing large splashes below. Later, a small boat followed the aircraft’s flight path and appeared to pick up what was being dropped.
Alford said the B-52s were operating on PMRF’s range in support of a Mine Warfare sweeping exercise between Kauai and Niihau, and that the floatable shapes that were dropped are designed to simulate mines.
On Sunday morning, a steady stream of warships — one behind the other — crossed through the 17-mile Kaulakahi Channel separating Kauai and Niihau, heading westward. The approximately 19 ships from various countries, including the United States, China, Norway, Singapore, India, Republic of Korea and Japan, were participating in a “Naval Gun Fire Rodeo,” an exercise to determine most accurate targeting, according to Alford.
He said the rodeo consists of ships firing live rounds into a specific set of coordinates, which explains the far-away explosions that could be heard from Polihale Beach.
The results of the rodeo are expected to be made during a presentation of awards July 31. Hay is scheduled to attend RIMPAC’s closing ceremonies on Oahu and present the trophy for the event, according to Alford.
RIMPAC escalated further on Monday, when warships, submarines and aircraft took aim at and sank the decommissioned USS Tuscaloosa at approximately 12:15 p.m., 5,000 feet deep and 57 nautical miles northwest of Kauai, according to a release by the U.S. Third Fleet.
Tuscaloosa was decommissioned in 1994 and now rests in a watery grave at the bottom of the Pacific.
Alford said Monday’s sinking was the second of two similar exercises, the first of which was held July 10.
The drills last through Aug. 1 and take place in the Hawaii Operating Area and several off-shore ranges, including PMRF.
