S'PORE AND US HONE MARITIME CAPABILITIES IN JOINT EXERCISE

Maritime security drills, submarine-tracking missions, a MISTRAL missile firing are what some 1,400 personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), the United States Navy (USN) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) can look forward to in Exercise CARAT 2010.

Held in Singapore from 5 to 19 Jul, CARAT 2010, which is short for "Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training", is the 16th exercise in the annual series held between both countries as they look to sharpen their maritime capabilities in anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

"The exercise has grown both in scope and complexity since 1995, from just a handful of ships conducting simple exercises to the high-end multi-dimensional exercise of today comprising surface, air land, sub-surface and coastguard elements," said Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Fleet Commander Rear-Admiral (RADM) Joseph Leong during his address to the participants at the Exercise CARAT opening ceremony on 6 Jul.

RADM Leong, who co-officiated the opening ceremony with the USN Commander Logistics Group Western Pacific, RADM Nora Tyson, went on to say that the exercise is reflective of the growth of Singapore-US bilateral relations.

During her address, RADM Tyson highlighted the relevance of Exercise CARAT to help counter some of the real and complex problems like illegal smuggling, terrorist activity, piracy and territorial disputes that occur in the region.

"Global stability is tied to cooperation and both the Singapore and the US recognise this fact. Bilateral exercises like CARAT are instruments to translate shared maritime concerns into real action," she said.

RSN Commander 1st Flotilla Colonel (COL) Sim Tiong Kian, who is one of the Exercise Task Group Commanders along with Captain (CAPT) Richard Clemmons, Commander Destroyer Squadron 31 from the USN, told cyberpioneer what participants this year can expect.

"The RSN has recently welcomed its naval helicopters into its fold. This year's exercise will see us working with the USN's naval helicopters, so as to aid in better operationalising our processes," said COL Sim, who is participating in Exercise CARAT for the eleventh time.

The evolution of Exercise CARAT through the years was also not lost on the exercise participants who appreciate the level of interaction with their US counterparts.

"In the past, bilateral exercises focused more on ship-to-ship interaction. However, these days, we focus on honing all aspects of maritime capabilities and these include helicopter and ship pairings as well as ship-to-submarine communication," said ME4 Nirmal Singh Dhillon, who is participating in Exercise CARAT for the sixth time.

ME4 Dhillon, the Coxswain of Formidable-class frigate RSS Intrepid, added that bilateral exercises such as CARAT help in the familiarisation of different naval practices and allow him to better understand the rationale behind them.

"Through workshops and various interactions like gunnery exercises, I get a better idea of the naval practices which my counterparts engage in. The sharing of experiences between the different participants ensures that the exercise is never boring and always fruitful," he said.

However, Exercise CARAT is not all work and no play for the exercise participants. The exercise helps to forge strong relationships and friendships between the personnel from the two countries.

"Singapore gives us such a warm welcome every time we arrive. I know the United States and Singapore enjoy a very warm and special relationship because we have many similar interests," said CAPT Clemmons.

He added that working with the RSN allowed the USN a "unique opportunity to cultivate relationships with a highly capable partner in the region".

The RSN and the USN interact regularly through professional exchanges, bilateral and multilateral exercises, such as Exercise Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT) and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).