For those who know us, it is no secret that the Navy is pretty important to us, more so to me than Meg. It’s where we met some 40 years ago. No, that 40 was not a type-o. 

Cam is going to Hawaii!

When we returned from our six-month “Grand-Adventure”, in March of 2024, there was a message waiting for me from the Navy. In short, they were asking if I would be willing to go to Hawaii, for RIMPAC, the largest naval exercise in the world. It would be for about six weeks, from late June to early August. It sounded too good to be true, but it was in fact true.

When I reached out to confirm I was available the staffing person laughed and told me I was already going. So much for volunteering. In the Navy, we call it being “volun-told”. The timings and date of travel changed a few times and eventually I headed to the land where palm trees sway on June 24^th. Myself and about 200 of my newest closest friends were flown on the Air Force’s new (to Canada) Airbus. It was a pleasant flight with in-service meals and in seat entertainment. In case you were wondering, there was no bar-cart. Once we landed and cleared our in-routines, we were driven to our accommodations. I was billeted on the base at Pearl Harbour.

My Accommodation while in Hawaii

The US Navy, who run the base, have a number of hotels on the base for use by in-transit personnel. I have a large bed with a fridge, microwave oven, dresser, wardrobe and desk. It is functional. 

The building is called Hale Alli and it is a Hawaiian word meaning “House of Chiefs”. There is a large Bar B Q area at the building with a number of picnic tables. We often gathered in the evening to have a joint Bar B Q and some adult beverages. Many team building functions were held here and the best part is most of us live in this complex so no one has to drive. 

The building I’m located in is near Pearl Harbour’s “Destroyer Row”, where frigates, destroyers and light cruisers berth. Within a five-minute walk there is a McDonalds, a Navy Exchange store where you can buy various items such as clothes, snacks and alcohol. A 30-minute walk, or 10-minute drive is a large grocery store and various restaurants such as Panda Express, Subway, a poké place and others. All of the above is located on the base. To counter the effects of the above noted restaurants, there are a few gyms, with excellent facilities, a 50-yard outdoor pool, tennis courts and other fitness activities.

Starting Our Work

Our first day was an “adjustment” day. We settled in and explored the surroundings getting sorted for the exercise. The next day we had an “all-hands” meeting where we learned the objectives of the exercise and our expectations. Then we started to get ready with computer account creation, access passes, etc. Somewhere along the line we were issued a number rental cars for the group. There were various work sites, mine was about 3 km from the accommodation and was on Ford Island, requiring exiting and entering at another gate.

RIMPAC involves 29 nations and over 40 ships with 180+ aircraft. In total there are around 25,000 people who are participating. Canada sent three ships as well as aircraft and about 600 people, 300 on ships and 300 ashore. I am in the latter group.

To coordinate something this large, there is a formal Sequence of Events or SOE. This overarching document was developed through numerous meetings over two years and details where and when things happen. My colleagues and I reviewed the SOE and noted there was a reception every night, held on board a ship and hosted by a different country each night.

July 1st – Canada hosts RIMPAC nations on our newest ship

Not surprisingly, Canada’s reception was on July 1^st. I was invited to that reception, which was held on the newly Commissioned HMCS Max Bernays. In all there were likely 600+ people at the reception and a delightful assortment of food and beverages were put out for guests to enjoy. For myself, it was the first time I had been on this class of ship and, similar to a new car, it had a new ship smell. In reality, the diesel fuel simply has not had the time to seep into every crevice. 

I was fortunate enough to attend receptions held on Chilean, Indonesian, German, French and Japanese ships. Each country put on a good spread and had libations to encourage discussions. Naturally the German beer was very good and the Chilean wine was delightful. The Indonesian food was great and Japanese had set up tempura stations where they made fresh tempura for guests. The highlight, for me, other than making the connections I did, were the French deserts. There were out of this world. 

The Exercise in Pieces

The exercise, which is the reason why we are here, has three phases, 

1. Harbour, 
2. Build up and 
3. Live.

When the harbour phase finished, the ships sailed to their respective operational areas, joining Task Groups. This is when the exercise started in earnest. From the landside, where injects and scenarios are created and implemented, events were simulated that require taskings. My team and I would make recommendations to direct a ship to carry out tasks. For security reasons, I’m not going into details. My role was within current operations and I supervised staff that focused on events from “now” until 48 hours out. Beyond 48 hours was future operations. 

I’ll post more shortly.

Thanks for reading!

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