Canada - US Relations

“ALOHA!”: HMCS Ottawa Arrives in Pearl Harbor for Anti-Sub War Games with U.S. Navy

It was an unexpectedly rough ride of 45 knot winds and a high of Sea State 5, but HMCS OTTAWA and her crew arrived in Hawaii safe and ready to participate in the U.S. Navy’s Prospective Commanding Officer (PCO) course which will include a host of interoperability exercises.

An integral part of the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Force training curriculum, the PCO course is nine weeks of intensive training focused exclusively on submarine warfare with scenarios that include conducting surveillance operations, planting minefields, shooting exercise torpedoes and working with Special Ops forces.

Taught four times a year by former submarine COs, the venue alternates between facilities at Pearl Harbor and Norfolk, Virginia, concluding with three weeks of underway training that simulates every facet of submarine combat and allows PCO candidates to direct all operations as the Command Duty Officer. HMCS OTTAWA will be participating in the PCO to “test the mettle” of these candidates during the first phase of its underway training, dubbed “Mini-Wars” or “Hollywood Operations”. Conducted north of the Hawaiian islands, this phase of the course finds the PCO candidates aboard the USS CHEYENNE, a Los Angeles class attack submarine, as they endure six separate eight-hour engagements with a focus on ‘free play’ in order to simulate actual battle conditions.

This is but the second time that the Canadian Navy has participated in the PCO course, with HMCS TORONTO having previously been invited to join the May 2003 PCO course.

“The level of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) skill that the TORONTO displayed during that exercise, and the information gathered for the Maritime Warfare Centre, was such that Canada was invited to participate in this PCO course again,” said OTTAWA’s commanding officer, Commander Bruce Gardam. “This will be a first for the entire crew, including myself, but will not be the first time that we have exercised with an American attack submarine. In the past, West Coast exercises such as RIMPAC and TANDUM THRUST have incorporated similar ASW exercises with Los Angeles class subs.” It is again the intention of the Maritime Warfare Centre in Halifax to use OTTAWA’s role in the course to evaluate Canadian tactics when operating against an underwater threat.

Further to its participation in the PCO, OTTAWA’S other goals for the deployment include furthering the ship's Combat Readiness Requirements (CRRs) and the ongoing training of Bridge Watch keepers and junior sailors.

Having been assigned to escort HMCS VICTORIA during her recent coastal transfer in the summer of 2003, OTTAWA is currently the only ship on the west coast with recent sub experience of any kind. As such, Cdr Gardam feels that his crew and Underwater Warfare Team are well trained and well prepared, and looks forward to taking full advantage of a unique opportunity. “As always, any time that we can conduct any training with other nations is a positive experience. Canada does not employ nuclear powered submarines so this provides a tremendous training opportunity for the crew and the Tactical Sonar Operators (TASOPs) in particular.”

Departing Esquimalt on February 2, OTTAWA spent the first two days at sea conducting exercises with HMCS PROTECTEUR. After refuelling in Esquimalt Harbour, the ship then commenced an 8-day transit shadowed by a stubborn weather front that delivered OTTAWA rough winds and high seas right to Oahu’s doorstep. Nonetheless, the ship conducted a multitude of training exercises in anti-submarine warfare, damage control and seamanship.

Since arriving in Pearl Harbor, the majority of the crew has taken advantage of the plentiful hospitality that the Hawaiian Islands have to offer, as well as taking the time to give their American counterparts a personal tour of the OTTAWA. Upon completion of the course, the ship will also host a reception for the PCO students and participants as well as returning to Pearl Harbor to participate in exercise de-briefs. While Cdr Gardam is unable to provide a return date, he gives assurances that it will be on the tail end of winter, “arriving home in time to for the crew to enjoy March Break with their families.”

Credit:  Pte Issabelle Paré As HMCS OTTAWA makes its way towards Hawaii, a stubborn weather front kicks up swells of 4 to 5 metres for much of its eight day transit.

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