Sorbet Royal
The NATO triennial major submarine escape and rescue (SMER) exercise Sorbet Royal involves rescue specialists and Naval forces. The combined NATO exercise SORBET ROYAL [not SORBET ROYALE] is involved in all aspects of submarine escape and rescue. Sorbet Royal is a multi-national exercise involving Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, United Kingdom and the United States. The aim of the exercise, conducted every 2-4 years in different areas, is to demonstrate the ability of the NATO alliance to cooperate in saving lives from a distressed submarine of any participating nation.
The first SORBET ROYAL, in 1986, took place off Stavanger, Norway, and the second, in 1992, in the Mediterranean. Exercise SORBET ROYAL 96 was a NATO submarine rescue exercise that ran from June 4 to 14 1996 in Vestfjorden, Norway.
SORBET ROYAL 2000 was the first SACLANT Submarine Escape and Rescue Live Exercise that will be held every two yeard. It is usually rotated between the Northern and the Southern Region, in order to achieve maximum training benefit for submarine Rescue System operators and crews units and submarines. According to the EXPSEC for SORBET ROYAL 2000, submarine operating Partners are invited to take part either as participants or observers. The Partnership Coordination Cell, Mons, forwarded an invitation to Partner nations. For SORBET ROYAL 2000 the United States of America forwarded invitations to the (ROYAL Australian NAVY, the Israel Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy, Argentina and Chile) to participate in or observe the exercise. The five invited nations sent Medical officers and observers (Submarine Officer, Rescue and Salvage experts) to SORBET ROYAL 2000.
The Deep Submergence Unit (DSU) from San Diego came a long way in support of the NATO exercise Sorbet Royal 2002. The small northern Danish city of Frederikshaven served as host for the fifth NATO-sponsored live submarine search and rescue exercise. Partnership for Peace nation Sweden also participated in this, the 3rd such exercise open to partner participation. The operation ran from May 21-31, in the Kattegat (the body of water between Denmark and Sweden) off the coast of Frederikshaven, Denmark. To bring the DSU and its assets to Denmark, a U.S. Air Force C-5 "Galaxy" transport plane was used to load the Submarine Rescue Chamber (SRC) at Naval Station North Island in San Diego. The SRC was then flown to Aalborg, Denmark, and trucked to Frederikshaven to be loaded onto the Danish vessel of opportunity (VOO) Gunnar Seidenfaden. At the same time, the Navy shipped the unmanned vehicle Super Scorpio via truck to Norfolk, Va., and then loaded it on board U.S. contract ship Dolores Chouest, which then sailed for Denmark. These two ships served as launch platforms for U.S. Navy units during the exercise. The SRC and Super Scorpio conducted rescue operations on four submarines from Sweden, Denmark and Norway during Sorbet Royal 2002. Other operational areas of the exercise included: the ventilation of a distressed submarine, a free ascent from a submarine, and a parachute drop by the Royal Navy Submarine Parachute Assist Group.
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