Couple ready to manage separation
Mary Ellen Green
Staff writer
April 14, 2008
MS Joe Kiraly and MS Alex Kiraly, both naval communicators, are looking forward to deploying at the same time. Neither will have to wait at home for the other to return this time around.
As HMCS Ottawa’s crew prepares for a four-month journey through the Pacific Rim with HMCS Regina, their Commanding Officer, Cdr Martin Teft focuses on the opportunities that lie ahead.
He talks animatedly about the diplomatic visits and military exchanges the ship will make during Westploy and Rim of the Pacific Exercise 08 (RIMPAC).
“We’ll engage with countries that are important to Canada. They are important culturally, economically, socially and from a security standpoint,” he says.
Interaction with Asian nations will include receptions, charitable work, and mini-exercises or discussions with other navies.
Because Canada is reliant on maritime trade for its economic wealth, maintaining good partnerships with Pacific Rim countries and their navies will reap long-term rewards, says Cdr Teft.
Though Ottawa’s deployment will not make national headlines, the ship will make an impression on the people who see it in their port, he says.
“The best way to show interest in a nation is to send a warship. We’re an excellent diplomatic tool. We are good representatives of Canadian values and the warship is a good representation of Canada’s commitment to maritime security, and to Canadian shipbuilding and technology.”
Ottawa will come alongside ports in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and China before visiting the U.S. territories of Guam and Hawaii for RIMPAC in July.
In Japan, Ottawa and Regina will carry out two weeks of maritime cooperation exercises with the United States and Japan. Most of that time will be spent working solely with the Americans practicing anti-submarine warfare and air defence.
Cmdre Nigel Greenwood, who will serve as RIMPAC’s Sea Combat Commander, and nine of his 16 fleet staff will spend several days aboard the American aircraft carrier, USS Kittyhawk to learn how things operate on the ship. The advance look at their RIMPAC command platform will give the team an advantage when the five-week exercise begins on June 29.
Before the Americans take their leave, the three nations will engage in a two-day tri-lateral exercise, and then the Canadian warships will spend a day working with Japanese ships.
After two weeks in Japan, the two frigates will part ways as Regina heads to Hong Kong. Ottawa will spend a few days in Kagoshima on Kyushu Island before continuing on to South Korea where a Canadian defence attaché will have several events organized for crewmembers.
Once they reach Shanghai, China, some of the crew will play hockey against a team of ex-patriot Canadians, and since the crew sports several talented players, Cdr Teft is confident the ship’s team will make hockey fans proud in its namesake city.
He is also in touch with several Canadian businessmen living in Shanghai who have offered to share their local knowledge and a peek at how Canadians are running successful businesses in that corner of the world.
On the naval side, up to 80 members of Ottawa’s crew will check out a Chinese naval vessel during reciprocal ship tours and receptions.
Ottawa will finish Westploy with time in the Philipines and Guam before making its way to Hawaii for RIMPAC, where it will rejoin Regina for harpoon missile shoots on a decommissioned U.S. warship.
Though firing at a real ship is a unique opportunity for the crew, says Cdr Teft, the big advantage of RIMPAC is the chance to work with navies Canada doesn’t often engage.
RIMPAC involves nine different countries. In addition to the United States and Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Peru, Chile, Japan, South Korea and Singapore will send ships and aircraft to participate in a scenario that will either pit them against one another or partner them up.
Ships will be tasked with a variety of operations reflecting incidents crews may face in real life: maritime interdiction, surveillance, protecting a larger force from an air or submarine threat, and supporting a non-combatant evacuation.
“If something happens in the Pacific Rim, and we have to work in a cooperative manner, having worked together in RIMPAC will help us to understand and interoperate with other nations in the event of a crisis, whatever that crisis might be,” says Cdr Teft.
With many developing countries in Pacific Rim and with the region being a major earthquake zone, anything can happen, he adds.
Though there will be no shortage of busy days to keep sailors from missing home, the length of Ottawa’s trip can pose challenges to morale, says Cdr Teft. During downtime, he’ll encourage movie nights on the flight deck, fundraising events and banyans to help keep spirits high.
The crew will also celebrate Canada Day in Hawaii and “of course we’ll celebrate a Stanley Cup win by the Senators,” he says.
