US NAVAL BASE, PEARL HARBOUR, HAWAII. Tuesday, 15 July 2014 – KDB DARUSSALAM and KDB DARULAMAN received a visit by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat, this morning at the United States (US) Naval Base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.The Deputy Minister was accompanied by Commander Royal Brunei Navy, Yang Mulia First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Aziz bin Hj Mohd Tamit, the Defence Attache of Negara Brunei Darussalam in the US, Colonel (L) Zil Husam bin Haji Abdul Rahman and the RBN Fleet Commander as well as several officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
Both ships had just come alongside for replenishment after completing the first part of exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) sea phase.
Prior to his visit, DLMN & DSLM had just successfully completed the firing of the MM40 BII missile during its inaugural participation in RIMPAC. This is the first time that this weapon system, together with a new integrated combat system, was tested and this marked a significant milestone in the Royal Brunei Navy in stamping it’s credentials as a combat efficient organisation. In relation to this, the DMOD personally came down and congratulated each member of the crew that were heavily involved in achieving this goal. He expressed his gratitude towards the dedication, hard work as well as the sacrifice of the crew, especially having to be away from their families and loved ones in the name of duty and service to the country. As mentioned before, these ships were deployed a month prior to the holy month of Ramadhan and will not be home during this month as well as during the Aidilfitri celebrations. Despite this challenges faced, the ships and crew have marked a certain standard the RBAF must continue to maintain in the aspect of operational capabilities and at the same time, be a strong arm in the nation’s efforts in maintaining good defence diplomacy with foreign nations.
Besides the Deputy Minister of Defence, the RIMPAC Exercise Combined Force Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC), Rear Admiral Gilles Couterier also paid a visit to both ships, congratulating the officers and crew and acknowledging the hard work put in by everyone involved. He, as well as other senior officials who witnessed the event, were impressed with the RBN ships’ capabilities and achievements in the successful execution of this historical event, as well as the participation with the RIMPAC exercise thus far and the previous Multi National Task Force exercise en route to Hawaii. With this encouraging effort, he hoped that the RBN will continue to participate in future RIMPAC exercises as a training platform to enhance operational procedures and integrate maritime capabilities with other nations.
In the evening, both ships were honoured to host the Commander Royal Brunei Navy and entourage for breaking fast, in conjunction with the Holy Month of Ramadhan, followed by mass prayers onboard KDB DARUSSALAM together with both ships’ company. The Commander Royal Brunei Navy also expressed his appreciation for the conduct of the event and also congratulated both ships on the success of the missile firing. He also shares a similar remark by the Deputy Minister of Defence and acknowledges the sacrifice that the personnel of both ships have made from being far away from their families and loved ones. He urged both ships’ company to maintain the highest standard of professionalism throughout the duration of the exercise and a safe return deployment to Brunei Darussalam.
With this achievement and not resting on it’s laurels yet, the RBN ships will continue on with the second part of the sea phase which is expected to end later this month. The second part of the sea phase will continue with Maritime Interdiction Operations and several surface evolutions which are designed to counter non-conventional security threats together with other navies from across the globe.
