Gasp! Is RIMPAC a ‘snoozer?’
July 8th, 2010 | Foreign navies The Pacific | Posted by Phil Ewing
Is the international exercise known as RIMPAC a waste of time? This Indonesian marine, who underwent "shallow water egress training" as part it, does not look like a fan. // Tech. Sgt. Cohen Young / Air Force
That ominous thudding noise you hear isn’t thunder — it’s the sound of heavy guns, shelling a target the Navy probably didn’t think it needed to defend: The annual, international Rim of the Pacific exercise, at which take-no-prisoners blogger Gina DiNicolo has leveled this broadside:
Despite the size, locale and agenda, these games seem anything but exciting. Take away the French, and really, what’s left? SNOOZEPAC is 38 days of too many visitors gorging themselves on foreign and U.S. naval delicacies. Air assets become personal taxis transporting their fares from vessel to vessel. (Maybe that’s how it got its rep as the world’s largest floating cocktail party.)
Boom! Whoosh! (Those shell splashes are getting close!) DiNicolo, who runs the Military Officers Association of America’s blog “Inside the Headquarters,” writes that RIMPAC is more patty-cake playtime than serious military outing, more kaffeeklatch than combat practice. But she concedes that it’s probably useful for the U.S. to make friends with Pacific allies, and at least the Hawaiian economy gets a boost.
So what do you think? Are the three dozen U.S. and international warships out in RIMPAC just there to soak up some sun, enjoy some awesome helicopter rides and drink cocktails with little umbrellas? Or is this exercise ultimately worth all the time, money and fuel?
Comments
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Gunner Says:
July 9th, 2010 at 12:29 pmI wonder if they are conducting live fire exercises now?
Remember when the Japanese shot down one of our A6 Intruders which was towing a target? (mid 90′s?)
I always had alot of fun and learned alot about our allied counterparts during RIMPAC.
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Inside the Headquarters » Thanks for the Nod, Navy Times! Says:
July 9th, 2010 at 12:31 pm[...] Our most recent post about the Navy’s biennial exercise, Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, garnered a quick reaction from Navy Times “Scoop Deck.” [...]
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Dr. Navy Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:32 amI hate RIMPAC. It is a waste of time.
Dr. Navy Out
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Fiver Says:
July 12th, 2010 at 10:26 amYeah sailors having a good time instead of pulling port and report in the Middle East for 7 months… what a load! Leave it to someone to put a negative spin on something that is educational, diplomatic, and a rare break from the grind. I’m sure some hardliner senator is quoting this ridiculous post to cut Navy funding for this exercise as we speak. Thanks!
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The Scoop Deck – Another one bites the dust Says:
July 15th, 2010 at 3:03 pm[...] amphibious assault ship New Orleans has made its final voyage. The fleet of international warships all at play this month off Hawaii had a party at the poor old ship’s expense — they hit it with [...]
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Battle Rattle - A Marine Corps Times Blog – ‘SNOOZEPAC’ blog entry gets public affairs contractor ousted from RIMPAC Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 1:31 am[...] Military Times colleague Phil Ewing pointed out on ScoopDeck, it was a “broadside,” one in which she mocked RIMPAC as “SNOOZEPAC” and [...]
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The Scoop Deck – ‘SNOOZEPAC’ blow-back Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 10:09 am[...] precis: Last week, we had a post here on the Deck linking to “Inside the Headquarters,” the blog of the Military Officers Association of [...]