Three Vietnam-era naval ships, including a frigate that was involved in the Mayaguez incident nearly three decades ago, will see final action as part of the monthlong Pacific nation exercise that begins at Pearl Harbor tomorrow. 3 retired ships will serve
as targets during
RIMPAC war gamesThe Vietnam-era naval ships
will be part of the monthlong
exercise that starts tomorrowBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comPart of this year's maritime training exercise called RIMPAC 2002 (Rim of the Pacific) will be a "sinkex" in which decommissioned naval vessels become targets for the guns, missiles, torpedoes and rockets of U.S. and allied warships and jet fighters.
This year's targets will be two frigates, USS Rathburne (FF 1057) and USS Harold E. Holt (FF 1074), and one combat supply ship, USS White Plains (AFS 4).
All three have been part of the Navy's "ghost fleet" at Pearl Harbor since they were removed from the naval register -- the Holt since 1992 and the White Plains and the Rathburne since 1995 -- waiting to be scrapped, sold to another country or sunk.
Navy officials say the nearly 10-month war on terrorism has significantly cut back this year's RIMPAC exercise, which is still billed as the largest maritime exercise in the world.
Two years ago, it boasted a combined fleet of 50 ships, 200 aircraft and 22,000 military personnel from eight Pacific basin nations. This year the war games have been scaled down considerably, said Cmdr. Jacqueline Yost, 3rd Fleet spokeswoman.
"A number of participating nations have assets committed to the war on terrorism," she said, "and they are stretched to the limit as we are."
The maritime exercise, held periodically since 1971, generally includes a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier and an air wing, bringing more than 5,000 sailors to Hawaii. However, all U.S. carriers are committed to Operation Enduring Freedom.
Only 30 ships, 24 aircraft and 11,000 personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States will be participating this year.
Charles Buffington, who served two Vietnam combat tours on the Rathburne, was surprised to learn the 32-year-old warship was still around.
"We thought she had been sold or sunk a long time ago," said Buffington, who served on the Rathburne as a chief boatswain's mate from June 1971-74 while it was homeported at Pearl Harbor.
"The last time I saw her was in the early 1980's when I was stationed at San Diego and she was steaming down the channel," added Buffington, 61.
During his Vietnam tour, Buffington said, the Rathburne lay off the coast of North Vietnam and fired 9,680 rounds from its three guns.
"I don't know what the targets were," he added. "They were coordinates called in by the Army."
On May 13, 1975, the Holt was ordered to sink or incapacitate the merchant ship Mayaguez, which a day earlier had been seized by the Khmer Rouge in the Gulf of Siam 60 miles from Cambodia. Forty civilian seamen were taken prisoner.
While Marines from the Holt boarded the Mayaguez on May 15, another group of Marines was ordered to storm a compound on the island of Koh Tang, located 35 miles off the coast of Cambodia since it was believed that some of the crew might be held there.
Eighteen servicemen are still listing as missing from the Mayaguez incident.
The 581-foot White Plains, nicknamed "the Orient Express," was deployed in Yokosuka, Japan, during its nearly 34 years of service as a cargo vessel.
"The major emphasis on this year's exercise will be anti-submarine warfare," Yost said.
She said that this year's opposing or "orange force" will be made up of ships from the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard, submarines from Japan, South Korea and Australia and Marine F-18 Hornet and Air Force F-16 jet fighters.
The multi-national "green" task force will consist of ships from the U.S., Chile, Peru and South Korea.
The RIMPAC exercise, which is organized by the Navy's 3rd Fleet based in San Diego, is scheduled to finish July 23.
Maritime exercises are scheduled in Hawaiian waters north and south of Oahu and at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. A Marine amphibious landing will be held at the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai at the end of the exercise next month.