RIMPAC 2014 Participants Conduct Sinking Exercise

PACIFIC OCEAN  – Live fire from ships, submarines and aircraft participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC)  2014 sank the decommissioned USS Ogden (LPD 5)  at 7:28 p.m. Thursday,  July 10,  in waters 15,000 feet deep, 55 nautical miles northwest of Kauai.

Units from the Republic of Korea, Norway and the United States participated in the sinking exercise (SINKEX), which provided them the opportunity to gain proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing against a surface target at sea

“The SINKEX is just one of the unique training opportunities offered at RIMPAC on the state-of-the-art training ranges available in Hawaii,” said Vice Adm. Kenneth Floyd, Commander of the RIMPAC Combined Task Force.

Former Navy vessels used in SINKEXs are prepared in strict compliance with regulations prescribed and enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Strict environmental compliance is observed during all SINKEXs. Each SINKEX is required to sink the hulk in at least 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet) and at least 50 nautical miles from land, only after the area has been surveyed to determine no marine mammals are present.

USS Ogden (LPD 5) was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock commissioned in 1965 and decommissioned in 2007. The second Navy ship named for Ogden, Utah, she supported the Vietnam War and operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ogden was the oldest active amphibious ship in the fleet when she was taken out of service after more than 40 years.

Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 26 – Aug. 1, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides 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. RIMPAC 2014 is the 24th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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