In the same year, Sama Sama, a Philippine Navy (PN) and the United States Navy (USN), and Lumbas, of the PN and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), were organized and executed together.
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The ships that met and trained together at sea included the PN frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF 150), the USN Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69), the RAN destroyer HMAS Hobart ( DDG 39) and the oiler HMAS Stalwart (A.
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“Sama-Sama Lumbas 2022 is the first regional exercise of this type and scale that Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 has been able to attend in person for more than two years,” said Capt. Tim LaBenz, commodore, DESRON7. last week.”
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Events at sea include strategic distribution, communications exercises, aircraft landing qualifications, replenishment-at-sea (RAS) and approach, and search and rescue. Another highlight at sea was Jose Rizal’s RAS victory with Stalwart, which demonstrated the skills the crew had learned during the previous PN-RAN qualification training. 30,000 liters of fuel were successfully transported from Stalwart to Jose Rizal during this bilateral meeting.
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In a show of cooperation, two U.S. Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded a JMSDF US-2 Seaplane and approached the exercise area communicating with the ships there. After landing the US-2 on the sea, the JMSDF search and rescue (SAR) team along with the Navy disembarked from the ship and conducted small SAR operations in a JMSDF rigid vessel.
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“A lot of planning and innovation goes into putting U.S. Marines aboard the JMSDF and joining forces with ships at sea during an exercise led by navies from the Philippines, the United States and Australia,” LaBenz said. “This is a true exercise that builds capacity and readiness for global events and helps ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
