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Friday, September 29, 2000




By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
The HMS Cornwall arrived in Pearl Harbor yesterday,
part of a British-French military contingent stopping
here. Daniel Wilcox, above, works on a Lynx
Mark 8 Helicopter.



British, French ships
here for maneuvers


By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

After steaming more than 28,000 miles in their first round-the-globe deployment in 14 years, five British and one French warships that arrived here yesterday will lay over at Pearl Harbor for four days.

There will be two major naval exercises involving the United Kingdom's Naval Task Group 2000 and the U.S. Pacific Fleet before the ships dock at San Diego on Oct. 17. The first will be with the Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS O'Kane and the cruiser USS Lake Erie in waters off Hawaii. The second set of maneuvers will be closer to the mainland.

But for the next four days, the 1,000 British and French sailors will be given time for "a break to savor the delights of what you have to offer," said Commodore Roger Ainsley, the group's deputy commander.

Five British warships -- the anti-submarine frigates HMS Cornwall and HMS Sutherland; the anti-air warfare destroyer HMS Newcastle; and the tankers RFA Bayleaf and RFA Victoria -- make up the UK contingent.

They are joined by the French frigate FS Aconit.


By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Roger Ainsley on the command deck. Ainsley is
Commodore, Naval Task Group 2000.



This is the first time since 1986 that a British warship has visited Pearl Harbor, said Ainsley, who holds a rank equivalent to a one-star admiral in the U.S. Navy.

But the British Navy -- which is composed of more than 100 ships -- works closely with the U.S. Navy on a daily basis, said Ainsley, noting that during the 1999 Kosovo conflict British submarines, armed with Tomahawk missiles, were in the first firing order.

Ainsley this year already has participated in naval exercises with the U.S. 2nd Fleet in the Atlantic, the 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf and the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.

With still another 12,000 miles to go before the task force returns to the British Isles on Nov. 23, the sailors now depend heavily on email to stay in touch with friends and families.

"Email seems like the primary means for families to keep in touch," said Ainsley, noting that it's a development that has occurred just within the past 12 months.

The destroyer Newcastle also has established a close link with a school in England and communicates with it via a Web site and email, Ainsley said.

The reason for the seven-month deployment was to participate in a major exercise in July with other forces of the Five Powers Defense Agreement, whose members include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia, Ainsley said.

"The treaty is the commitment to the region," Ainsley said. "This is our part in the global effort to support the U.S. -- our major ally and partner."

Following the July exercise, the group split, with four ships visiting Pacific Rim countries and two others traveling to Australia.

The public is invited to tour the Newcastle and Aconit from 2 to 5 p.m. daily until Monday at Pearl Harbor. Visitors can enter through Nimitz Gate and follow the signs to Piers 23 and 26.



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