US Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffrey Troutman | US PACIFIC COMMAND
Approximately 50 submarine officers and civilian contractors from seven nations attended a Rim of the Pacific 2016 submarine rescue symposium hosted at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on July 9.
The symposium offered those in attendance an opportunity to strategise how different nations can work together in the event of a submarine accident or casualty.
“We need to be able to come together as nations if ever there is a disabled submarine, because you only have a short amount of time to perform a submarine rescue,” US Navy Commander John Doney, deputy commander of Submarine Squadron 11 based in San Diego said.
“Events like this symposium bring us together ahead of time to discuss issues related to submarine rescue. It’s very important we do this now and not just when there’s a disabled submarine out there.”
Doney said modern submarine accidents like the K-141 Kursk Russian submarine disaster in August 2000, in which the subamrine was lost with all hands on board in the Barents Sea, have placed a heightened emphasis on nations working together to aid in search and rescues of submarine accidents.
During the symposium, a special emphasis was placed on alerting and mobilising rescue plans in the event of a downed submarine. It also included an extensive walkthrough of the US submarine search and rescue manual, allowing attendees the opportunity to discuss and get clarification on procedures performed differently within their own submarine communities.
“The reason we’re here is to learn about each other and build relationships across the submarine communities,” said Royal Australian Navy Commander Ken Marr.
“Depending on where a disabled submarine is, we have to look for what are the best resources, and that often requires coordination across many nations to get the resources we need for a rescue.”
Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from 30 June to 4 August in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
This article first appeared on the US Pacific Command website.