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Navy Ships Depart Pearl Harbor for RIMPAC 2010 Exercises

Navy ships and submarines from seven participating nations steamed from Pearl Harbor on July 7,
2010, to begin Phase II of the Rim of the Pacific 2010 war games, known as RIMPAC 2010, U.S.
Navy officials said.
RIMPAC 2010's second phase will continue until July 24, and features live gunnery and missile
exercises, maritime interdiction and vessel boardings, undersea warfare, anti-surface warfare, naval
maneuvers and air defense exercises.
A total of 32 ships plus five submarines will participate in this phase of the war games, which aim at
strengthening regional partnerships and improving multinational military interoperability, according
to the U.S. Navy. The exercises take place in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.
RIMPAC 2010 to Emphasize Littoral Ships
The RIMPAC 2010 war games, which officially launched in Hawaii on June 23, 2010, have brought
together vessels and personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, France, Indonesia, Japan,
Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand, as well as the
United States.
Vice Admiral Richard Hunt, commander of the combined task force, said in a statement that the
military exercises will emphasize littoral operations, or close-to-shore operations, with three ships
built by different nations but all intended for work in shallow waters.
The U.S.S. Freedom, the U.S. Navy's first littoral design ship, was joined at RIMPAC 2010 by the

French frigate Prairial and the Singapore frigate R.S.S. Supreme, both also designed for littoral
operations. The U.S.S. Freedom, which was commissioned in 2008, arrived home in San Diego after
its first deployment on April 23, 2010.
Other U.S. Navy ships participating in RIMPAC include the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered
supercarrier U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, the U.S.S. Devastator, an Avenger-class mine countermeasures
ship, the U.S.S. Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and the U.S.S. McClusky, a Perry-class
guided missile frigate.
Phase II of RIMPAC Will Test Communications
RIMPAC's Phase II exercises were designed to test the participating nations' capabilities to work
together and strengthen their abilities to communicate and operate in simulated maritime scenarios.
"This is the largest RIMPAC that we've had," Hunt said in the U.S. Navy statement. "This exercise
clearly focuses on maritime domain awareness, dealing with expanded military operations across the
complete spectrum of warfare."
The military exercises will conclude with tactical Phase III, which was set to begin on July 25. Phase
III will involve scenario-driven exercises designed to further strengthen maritime skills and
capabilities.
RIMPAC 2010, themed "Combined Agility, Synergy and Support," is the world's largest multinational
maritime exercise, with more than 20,000 personnel plus nearly 40 surface vessels and submarines.
RIMPAC war games have been held 22 times since 1971.
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