Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Amazed at the splendor of Korea's naval fleet and moved by its status

The heat of RIMPAC 2016 - the world’s largest multi-national maritime exercise with 27 participating nations - is rising, with the fleet's opening ceremony held on July 9, local time, before the full-scale maritime exercise.

Including the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, USS John C. Stennis, and our Aegis destroyer, King Sejong the Great (DDG), naval forces representing each country arrived at the Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Compared to previous years, there was a greater number of reporters covering these top-of-the-line fleets, which were introduced at this ceremony.

Our Navy also participated in the ceremony and unvailed our power including 3 fleets, the King Sejong the Great class destroyer, the Korean destroyer Gang Gam Chan Ham (DDH-II), the 209-class submarine Lee Eok Ki Ham, the Maritime patrol aircraft P-3, and Linx, as well as around 700 naval and marine corps troops composed of 2 teams of Underwater Demolition Team/Sea, Air, Land (UDT/SEAL) and one marine platoon. They are giving impetus to the last preparation stage for the maritime exercise that started on July 11.

This is our 14th time participating since the exercise first began in 1990; our Navy now boasts an upgraded status and an improved fighting force, taking on the naval combat commander Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) for the first time ever in our navy history.

During in-port training, which has continued since June 30, our naval RIMPAC flotilla has prepared for the exercise by holding coordination meetings and tactical discussions with navies from every country, as well as with the U.S. Third Fleet, which conducts this exercise.

On July 8, Vice Admiral Nora Tyson, admiral of the 3rd fleet, commander, combined task forces for this exercise, visited the King Sejong the Great class destroyer and reported on the exercise preparation from commander, RIMPAC, Captain Lee Sang-gap, who is in charge of naval combat commander, ESG. Vice Admiral Tyson also asked him to ensure a successful mission.

For the power-integrated training, which started on July 11, King Sejong the Great was deployed to the ESG and Gang Gam Chan Ham was deployed to the carrier strike group.

The session consists of power-integrated training, which was conducted in accordance with the given procedures and a free offensive and defensive exercise (carrier striking and expeditionary striking operations). They will be carried out until the 3rd of August.

The first Korean commander, Lee, who takes a commanding position in the maritime action group (which convoys the ESG), will command 8 surface vessels and 13 helicopters; these are subordinate elements of the ESG that will conduct antisubmarine and antiship warfare.

He will also serve as commander of maritime interdiction operations and mine warfare, and depending on the situation, will work in cooperation with commanders of antiair and information warfare and assault operations. During this exercise, King Sejong the Great and Gang Gam Chan Ham will be used for the SM-2 antiaircraft missile firing drill that targets flight marks, and Lee Eok Ki Ham will be used for the harpoon, antisubmarine-guided missiles launching drill that targets a disused landing ship.

The marine corps are boarding on the landing ship for multi-national integrated training, and they will conduct landing operations, while the UDT/SEAL troops will carry out ship-domination training and an explosive ordnance disposal drill with the U.S., Canada, and two other nations. In addition to these training initiatives, Korean, the U.S., Japanese, and Australian navies will engage in a combined pass exercise, such as anti-pirate oppression training and Search And Rescue Exercises (SAREX) following completion of the RIMPAC.

Commander Lee said, “We’ll improve our combined mission capability with countries around the world and be fully ready for combat, as we will be able to respond to any enemy provocations through this exercise. As a maritime combat commander of the ESG assigned for this exercise, I’ll try my best to improve our Navy’s status in commanding these multi-national battleships.”

Meanwhile, the RIMPAC, which is held in the coastal waters of Hawaii once in two years, is a comprehensive maritime maneuver that will protect a sea lane between the Pacific coastal states; it will also help cope with terrorism at sea. This is the 25th exercise this year.

With around 26 participating countries - including the U.S., Japan, China and others - the exercise is the largest to be held thus far, and it is recorded as the first training exercise with a group of seven countries that includes Germany and Italy.

Next to the U.S., China - in its second time participating in this exercise - had the second-highest number of dispatches, with 5 fleets and 1,200 troops.

In Hawaii, article and picture presented by Seok-Jong, Lee < seokjong@dema.mil.kr >
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