Yesterday, Londoner and Leading Seaman Matthew Prince was recognized as one of the “Faces of RIMPAC” by the Canadian Navy. Prince is a Sonar Operator from London, who serves on the HMCS Ottawa out of Victoria, British Columbia.
RIMPAC stands for Rim of the Pacific Exercise, and it the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise. It is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
The US invites military forces from the Pacific Rim and beyond to participate to promote stability in the region. Described by the US Navy as a, “Unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans.”
The quick vignettes are designed to introduce some of the participants within RIMPAC. Here is Matt’s:
We are pleased to introduce Leading Seaman Matthew Prince from Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦👏👏#FacesofRIMPAC@CanadianForces @mrc_rcn @RCN_MRC #RIMPAC #RIMPAC2018 #CapableAdaptivePartners pic.twitter.com/XoGRSPFzjK
— RIMPAC (@RimofthePacific) July 15, 2018
Prince’s father Andrew proudly offered, “He’s incredibly quiet, so the fact that he did this is shocking.”
Prince has been enlisted for five years, and visited ten ports on the Pacific last year alone.
Congratulations young man, keep making your parents and London proud.
Here are some of the amazing exercises that RIMPAC are doing right now, like sinking the decommissioned ex-USS Racine, during SINKEX:
It's a HIT! 🎯
Live fire from aircraft, a submarine, and land assets have sunk the decommissioned the Tank Landing Ship, ex-USS Racine, during the Sinking Exercise, or SINKEX.#RIMPAC #RIMPAC2018 #CapableAdaptivePartners pic.twitter.com/6cMhxG0GXN
— RIMPAC (@RimofthePacific) July 16, 2018
…and then…🤔 pic.twitter.com/aDqFqiV2T4
— RIMPAC (@RimofthePacific) July 15, 2018
Check out the RIMPAC Twitter feed for more great footage and more “Faces of RIMPAC”. You can also use the hashtags #RIMPAC #RIMPAC2018 #CapableAdaptivePartners on Twitter to find more content.
There is also a Facebook page for the HMCS Ottawa where you can learn more about the boat and crew.
Canada was involved in the very first RIMPAC back in 1971, along with Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Canada, Australia, and the US have participated in every RIMPAC since then. Other regular participants are Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
The United States contingent has included an aircraft carrier strike group, submarines, up to a hundred aircraft and 20,000 Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and their respective officers. The size of the exercises varies from year to year.