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Brunei, U.S. Navies Begin Second Phase of CARAT 2004

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040621-07

Release Date: 6/21/2004 8:00:00 PM

By Chief Journalist Melinda Larson, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training Task Group Public Affairs

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM (NNS) -- The Brunei phase of the annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series began here June 21 with the arrival of the five-ship U.S. CARAT Task Group and an opening ceremony officiated by the commander of the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) at his headquarters.

"We are very thankful to the United States Navy for continuing to provide us with the opportunity to exercise and gain knowledge from the world's most modern and sophisticated Navy," said Col. Joharie Bin Haji Matussin, commander of the RBN.

Joharie's remarks were made to a small group of U.S. and RBN officials, including Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, commander of Task Force 712 and the U.S. Navy's executive agent for CARAT; Capt. Buzz Little, commander of Destroyer Squadron 1 and the CARAT Task Group; and Little's counterpart, Lt. Col Abdul Aziz Bin Haji Mohd Tamit, RBN's fleet commander.

During CARAT Brunei, more than 1,400 personnel from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces - primarily the RBN - along with nine ships and a variety of aircraft, will take part in an assortment of exercise events, ranging from at-sea gun shoots, to in-port damage control and diving symposiums.

Although this is the 10th year of CARAT, 2004 marks the 16th consecutive year the USN and RBN have exercised together, dating back to the Kingfisher exercise series.

CARAT began in 1995 by combining a number of existing naval exercises with Southeast Asia nations into a sequential series of exercises conducted by a single U.S. Navy task group.

"From practicing simple seamanship and communications evolutions, the serials planned have progressed to complex multi-dimensional warfare scenarios," Joharie said.

The under way phase of the exercise will include a combined RBN/USN staff embarked in USS Russell (DDG 59), and for the first time in the history of CARAT Brunei, the Portable Allied Command, Control, Communications Terminal (PAC3T) system will be used to provide exercise officers manning the CARAT exercise headquarters ashore with a "common operational picture" during the under way phase. PAC3T includes a monitor display with maps that allow the visual tracking of assets, such as ships.

In addition, the USN will demonstrate the advantages of the Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange system (CENTRIX) to the RBN. CENTRIX allows U.S. ships and partners to share secure email and also offers "chat" capabilities common during U.S. Navy operations.

Brunei is the second in the five part CARAT series. Other phases this year include Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. The Singapore phase was conducted May 31 - June 11. While each country phase differs based on the desires of CARAT partners, the general focus is on interoperability of sea services in areas such as operational planning, command and control, tactics, logistics support and maritime law. Community service projects are scheduled, as well.

"Apart from providing professional interactions and exchanges of ideas, this exercise also encourages social interactions and strengthens friendships between personnel of both navies, and effectively, the armed forces of both nations," Joharie added.

Brunei Darussalam, an Islamic state, is located on the northwest coast of Borneo, bordered on the north by the South China Sea and has a population of approximately 350,000.

The U.S. CARAT Task Group, under the leadership of Little, is made up of the U.S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter Mellon (WHEC 717), the dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), the guided-missile destroyers USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS McCampbell (DDG 85), and the rescue and salvage ship USS Salvor (ARS 52). Other elements, including an SH-60 Seahawk and P3-C Orion aircraft, are also taking part in the Brunei phase of CARAT. Royal Brunei Navy ships participating include the missile gunboats KDB Waspada and KDB Seteria, as well as the coastal patrol craft KDB Pemburu and KDB Perwira.

Little's staff is based in San Diego, as is McCampbell. The cutter Mellon is homeported in Seattle. Russell and Salvor are homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Fort McHenry is part of the U.S. 7th Fleet's forward deployed naval force operating from Sasebo, Japan.