Exercise in Pacific builds trust between nations

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Chris Vadnais
  • Air Force News Agency
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) --  Representatives from nine nations are participating in Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2008 throughout July in Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean.

RIMPAC 2008 employs more than 20,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as members of other nations building a foundation of trust through working together.

A multinational team is providing command and control of air and space forces for from the 613th Air and Space Operations Center at Hickam Air Force Base. Forces from the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea are gathered together on the AOC floor, each with his or her own specific function related to command and control of RIMPAC air and space assets. 

Perhaps the most important thing that happens in the state-of-the-art command and control facility is the building of relationships between coalition forces, said Maj. Gen. Richard E. Perraut Jr., the 13th Air Force vice commander and the Combined Forces Air Component commander for RIMPAC 2008.

"We do about 30 exercises a year, both jointly and with our partner nations," the general said. "In doing that we build relationships, we build trust and we build on a capability so that when real-world situations happen, the other nations know that we have the capability (to help). They trust us."

Pacific partnerships are important to 13th Air Force and U.S. Pacific Command officials, and building relationships rooted in trust and cooperation takes time.

"When you start working in an international environment, you do not have the trust built right from the start," said Canadian air force Brig. Gen. Yvan Blondin, the deputy CFACC for RIMPAC 2008.

Working in a joint and multination operation is different from deploying with one's own unit, requiring time to build understanding and trust, General Blondin said.

"You need to establish that basis before you can be effective operationally," the general said. "So if you can do it in an exercise, the contacts you make (and) the understanding of other countries just makes it easier when you have to do it for real. You don't need to start from scratch."

The time and effort it takes to build relationships rooted in trust are likely to pay off in a big way, General Perraut said. When the time comes for the United States to partner with any or all of the RIMPAC 2008 nations in a real contingency, the trust formed now will be a solid foundation on which to build.

"We've built relationships. We can help them, they can help us, and it comes out to the good of all," General Perraut said.

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