The crew mans the rails to honor the men that lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
10,435 nautical miles to Pearl Harbor. 6 months at sea. “Fox” surely demonstrates Norway’s will to support USA in their areas of interest.
A long way from home: HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen sailed 10,435 nautical miles from Bergen, Norway, to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
It is also home of HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen, a multi-role frigate which has participated in several operations since it was commissioned in 2007. But what does it take to get a warship from the Arctic areas in Europe, to tropical Hawaii?
For our crew, the exercise started when we left our homeport in Norway the 12th of May, but for those working with the logistics it had begun months before. We started planning RIMPAC 14 when we were deployed in OP RECSYR (removal of chemical agents from Syria). When we deployed for an undecided time on with three-days’ notice to Syria, we didn’t know if we were still going to RIMPAC, but luckily we started planning for it.
Our logistics department delivers everything from million dollar missiles to food and band-aids. What’s special for us is all the parts that can only be delivered in Norway, and also the Naval Strike Missiles. Coordinating everything from small parts and spikes to advanced technical equipment to such a broad field of expertise, from medical to tactical operations, surely demands a functional logistics department.
Sailing to the other side of the world means you get to experience new harbors. We’ve visited some pretty exotic places (for us Norwegians at least, they’re very exotic) such as Ponta Delgada, Santo Domingo and Panama before joining the group sail from San Diego to Hawaii.
For us RIMPAC will be a 6-month journey.
Multitasking logistics; conducting both replenishment at-sea and helicopter operations at once requires some planning. Our crew only counts 120 sailors and officers, but all are trained to multitask.
For me, RIMPAC has been very interesting and intense. As a “Baby-Doc” I’m responsible for the medical equipment, the education of our first responders, and ensuring that our medical department is ship shape; and, of course, fixing cuts, wounds and blisters. I must admit; I also have a habit of “injuring” sailors and placing them around the ship for others to find. Preferably the casualties are good actors. We’ve made up some pretty dramatic love stories… When you don’t have Grey’s Anatomy you make your own soaps, right? Best thing about that is that you get to help fix the casualties yourself, though it’s kind of like wrapping your own Christmas gift.
Sgt. Marthe Brendefur is about to set a venous cannula in a patient. This way, the patient can receive medication and fluid. We often practice without tourniquets, since patients with real traumas usually don’t have very visible veins.
Speaking of drama, the real casualties always seem to happen at night for the extra effect. During the group sail we had to do a medevac to the USS Peleliu in the middle of the night. We train as realistically as possible, but it’s still something completely different when it’s a no-play situation. Arriving at Peleliu, the patient went straight into surgery, and luckily he was all right. Thank you USS Peleliu!
We’re happy to be a part of this exercise and enjoy meeting other participants and learning new things every day.