USA: C3F, TTGP Hold Staff Exercise

Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet (C3F) and Tactical Training Group Pacific (TTGP) held a Staff Exercise (STAFFEX) for senior leadership staffs at Naval Base Point Loma April 14-16 in preparation for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014.

The exercise provided an opportunity to work through challenging scenarios in a synthetic, computer-based environment prior to live training to be conducted during RIMPAC.

“We have multiple modules simulating a command room,” said TTGP RIMPAC STAFFEX Coordinator, Cmdr. Sean Rando. “We conduct simulated exercises regularly, but none to this scale, and there are language barriers and meanings of certain terms that we don’t realize can be an issue until we execute an exercise. So, in order to solve some of these issues, we decided to conduct a synthetic war game to mirror parts of RIMPAC in a controlled environment.”

Senior staffs from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States participated in the training.

“We all have one common goal: to make this the best RIMPAC ever,” said Combined Force Maritime Component Commander, Royal Canadian Navy Commodore Gilles Couturier. “This is all about relationships and establishing links as a coalition force. This is the best option we have to exercise the plan without actually putting ships at sea. Every nation is budget conscious, so it is our job as leaders to make the best of it.”

Deputy Commander, Combined Task Force, Royal Australian Navy Rear Adm. Simon Cullen expressed his feelings on how training prior to a major exercise builds team cohesion.

“What this does is cement relationships and allows us to practice tactics, techniques and procedures in a simulated environment,” he said. “When we get to the real operational area we don’t want to make the same mistakes, so we start at a higher level of training and keep building.”

RIMPAC is the world’s largest maritime exercise, which occurs biennially in and around the Hawaiian islands. The exercise, which is next scheduled to occur in the summer of 2014, is hosted by U.S. Pacific Fleet and led by the commander of U.S. 3rd Fleet.

“It’s a complex exercise, but it is very important that we all learn to work together to promote security and stability in the Pacific, so these exercises are ideal venues to allow us to work together with other countries that you would not otherwise meet,” added Cullen.

U.S. 3rd Fleet leads naval forces in the Eastern Pacific from the West Coast of North America to the international date line and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy.

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Press Release, April 18, 2014; Image: Wikimedia