Photo By Lt. Michelle Scott | 20220707-O-QR492-1003 PEARL HARBOR (July 7, 2022) MS Matthew Cormier, Naval Electronic...... read more read more
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The Alasdair Macdonald song 'Heading for Halifax' famously notes that for those born in Cape Breton “Wherever they go, there’s bound to be friends from back home.” Arriving in Pearl Harbor for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Wall, operations officer, Royal Australian Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment ship HMAS Supply (A 195) said he found that particularly true.
Wall, born and raised on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, has served in the Royal Canadian Navy for more than 16 years as a Naval Warfare Officer, before joining the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Wall said RIMPAC 2022 is a great opportunity to re-connect with many former shipmates on the Canadian frigates also alongside in Pearl Harbor for the multinational partnership – including his former shipmate Cmdr. Kevin Whiteside, commanding officer, Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331).
Wall reached out to those he knew in the ship to schedule a visit for his team in order to discuss the Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) 1B training and maintenance on Supply. The CIWS 1B is less widely employed on Australian ships, but his Canadian counterparts are well-versed in the weapon system located on every Canadian ship.
“It was a great opportunity to leverage the deep technical knowledge of the system that Royal Canadian Naval operators are known for,” said Wall. “We shared technical and training ideas and practices to improve both of our teams.”
The cross-deck evolution helped the Australian Sailors develop their understanding of the weapons system and obtain helpful tips and tricks from seasoned CIWS operators and maintainers.
“We discussed a wide variety of topics, both procedure-based and concept-based,” said Sailor 1st Class Joop Koerten, Weapons Engineering Technician and Vancouver CIWS subject-matter-expert. “With the maintainers, I shared my techniques for maintenance procedures, products I prefer to use, and the areas that need special attention to keep the system healthy.”
The opportunity for cross-deck evolutions was built into RIMPAC’s 2022 shore phase, and the Vancouver crew took every additional opportunity possible to work with partner nations and allies. The training that took place outside the planned RIMPAC evolutions not only improved the ship’s capacity for interoperability between nations, but it also formed new friendships and strengthened old ones. Those friendships and relationships built will continue to create future opportunities to learn from each other.
For Koerten, the experience of hosting Sailors from Supply was a highlight of his first-ever RIMPAC experience.
“RIMPAC is incredible; it’s like the all-stars for our line of work. It’s the perfect time to get exposure to other naval systems and develop your skillset,” he said. “The diversity of everyone’s individual training and experiences creates a wealth of knowledge that everyone can learn from.”
Twenty-six nations, 38 surface ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel will train and operate in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug. 4. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2022 20:51 |
| Story ID: | 425172 |
| Location: | SYDNEY, N.S., CA |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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