Pacific Pathways

Pacific Pathways is a program run by United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) and operationally led by I Corps with the goal of expanding the Army's engagement in the Pacific region, and potentially reducing the costs of doing so by linking multiple military exercises together, creating a "Pathway". The concept of the program was first created by General Vincent K. Brooks in 2014.[1] Pacific Pathways have developed into operations to both increase readiness of US, Allied, and Partnered forces while shaping the security environment in support of an open and free Indo-Pacific and providing options to the combatant commander.[2]

History

2014 Pathway

U.S. and Malaysian Soldiers conduct patrols at Keris Strike 14

Indonesian soldier applies camouflage paint to his face during Garuda Shield 14

From August to November, one Pathway was completed as a proof of concept. About 820 personnel from the 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team were sent to complete three exercises:[3]

• The Keris Strike exercise in Malaysia[4]
• The Garuda Shield exercise in Indonesia
• The Orient Shield exercise in Japan

2015 Pathways

In 2015, three Pathways were completed, numbered 15-1, 15-2, and 15-3.

Royal Thai Army soldiers demonstrate how to properly handle and neutralize a king cobra to U.S. Army soldiers during Cobra Gold 15

Pathway 15-1

From January to May, about 880 personnel from the 2-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team completed three exercises for Pathway 15-1. The exercises completed were:[3]

• The Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand
• The Foal Eagle exercise in South Korea
• The Balikatan exercise in the Philippines

U.S. soldiers patrol the woods during Pacific Pathway 15-2

Pathway 15-2

From June to October, the 3-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team sent about 840 personnel to complete these three exercises, including two previously completed during the Pathway 14:[5]

• The Hamel exercise in Australia
• The Garuda Shield exercise in Indonesia
• The Keris Strike exercise in Malaysia

Pathway 15-3

In June and July, about 420 personnel from the 1-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team completed three exercises for Pathway 15-3:[3]

• The Khan Quest exercise in Mongolia
• The Orient Shield exercise in Japan
• The Hoguk exercise in South Korea

2016 Pathways

In 2016, Pathways 16-1, 16-2, and 16-3 were completed to increase Army readiness, increase Joint and interagency access and expand regional ally and partner collaboration and interoperability.[6][2]

Pathway 16-1

Helicopters Loaded on Vessel During Pacific Pathway 16-1

From December 2015 to May 2016, about 835 personnel from the 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team completed the following three exercises:[3][7]

• The Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand
• The Foal Eagle exercise in South Korea[2]
• The Balikatan exercise in the Philippines

Pathway 16-2

During the months of May to September, about 700 personnel from the 2-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team completed four different exercises:[3][7]

• The Hanuman Guardian exercise in Thailand
• The Salaknib exercise in the Philippines
• The Garuda Shield exercise in Indonesia
• The Keris Strike exercise in Malaysia

Pathway 16-3

From July to September, these four exercises were completed:[7]

• The Tiger Balm exercise in Hawaii, United States; This was a "Reverse Pathway" with Singapore, meaning that instead of the United States Army visiting Singapore, the Singapore Army visited the United States.[2]
• The Arctic Anvil exercise in Alaska, United States (Reverse Pathway with the Canadian Army)
• The Orient Shield exercise in Japan
• The Rising Thunder exercise in Washington, United States (Reverse Pathway with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)[2]

2017 Pathways

In 2017, three Pathways (17-1, 17-2, and 17-3) were completed.

Pathway 17-1

From February to May, these three exercises were repeated from Pathways 15-1 and 16-1:[8]

• The Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand
• The Foal Eagle exercise in South Korea
• The Balikatan exercise in the Philippines

Pathway 17-2

U.S. and Indonesian soldiers saluting during the closing ceremony of Garuda Shield 2017

During the months of July to September, the following three exercises were completed:

• The Tiger Balm exercise in Singapore;[9] In Pathway 16-3, this exercise was a Reverse Pathway in Hawaii. In this iteration it was completed in Singapore.
• The Keris Strike exercise in Malaysia
• The Garuda Shield exercise in Indonesia

Pathway 17-3

From July to September, these four exercises were completed:

• The Talisman Saber exercise in Australia
• The Hanuman Guardian exercise in Thailand
• The Orient Shield exercise in Japan[10]
• The Rising Thunder exercise in Washington, United States (Reverse Pathway with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)

2018 Pathways

Three Pathways were completed during the year of 2018. They were Pathways 18-1, 18-2, and 18-3.

Pathway 18-1

Between February and May, the following three exercises were completed:[11]

• The Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand
• The Key Resolve exercise in the Republic of Korea
• The Balikatan exercise in the Philippines

Pathway 18-2

From June to September, these five exercises were completed:[12]

• The Hamel exercise in Australia
• The Garuda Shield exercise in Indonesia
• The Orient Shield exercise in Japan
• The Keris Strike exercise in Malaysia
• The Hanuman Guardian exercise in Thailand

This Pacific Pathway was the first Army National Guard-led Pathway, conducted by the 76th IBCT from the Indiana Army National Guard, the 96th Troop Command from the Washington Army National Guard, and the 116th CBCT from the Idaho National Guard.

Pathway 18-3

First land-based missile launch performed at RIMPAC exercise

From May to September, the following exercises were completed:[13]

• The Tiger Balm exercise in Hawaii, United States (Reverse Pathway with the Singapore Army)
• The RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) exercise in Hawaii, United States[14][15]
• The Valiant Shield exercise in Guam
• The Rising Thunder exercise in Washington, United States (Reverse Pathway with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)

Two of these exercises were Reverse Pathways, and the other two were traditionally naval exercises that the United States Army joined in through the Multi-Domain Task Force (or MDTF) led by 17FAB as a part of the Army's pilot program for multi-domain operations.

2019 Pathways

Three Pathways were completed in 2019 to include an extended presence Pathway, an MDTF Pathway, and a total force Pathway.

Pathway 19-1

Soldiers from 5-20 Infantry conduct combined security mission at the Palau Intl. Airport

U.S. and Philippine Service Members train side-by-side during Salaknib 2019

General Pornpipat Benyasri and Lt. Gen. Gary Volesky greet Lt. Col. Scott Siegfried during the opening ceremony of Cobra Gold 19

From January to May, the following exercises were completed:[16][17]

• The Hanuman Guardian exercise in Thailand[18]
• The Cobra Gold exercise in Thailand[19]
• The Salaknib exercise in the Philippines[20]
• The Balikatan exercise in the Philippines[21]
• The Palau exercise in Palau[22]

The 19-1 Pathway was the first extended presence in a priority nation, with four months in the Philippines. 19-1 also was the first dynamic force employment of the Pathways task force with a "spoke" to Palau from the Philippines.[23] Pathway forces for 19-1 were provided by 25ID, 1-2SBCT, and 25CAB.

Pathway 19-2

A US Army UH-60 Blackhawk flies over Yamaguchi Bay during Orient Shield 2019

19-2 consisted of two exercises from July to September focused on the multi-domain task force led by 2 ID DIVARTY and 17 FAB. The exercises in 19-2 were:[13]

• The Talisman Saber exercise in Australia, which was officially launched on July 8, 2019 on board the USS Ronald Reagan.[24] A Chinese Type 815G spy ship also watched over the exercise, seeming to gather information about the interactions between the participating militaries.[25][26]
• The Orient Shield exercise in Japan

Pathway 19-3

Illinois Guardsmen prepare for international partnership at Rising Thunder

19-3 consisted of the following exercises:

• The Hamel exercise in Australia
• A dynamic force employment to Fiji[27]
• The Garuda Shield exercise in Indonesia
• The Tiger Bomb/Lightning Strike exercise in Singapore
• The Rising Thunder exercise in Washington, United States (Reverse Pathway with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)

Forces for Pathway 19-3 were provided by 2-25IBCT, 16CAB, and 33IBCT from ILARNG.

Pacific Pathways 2.0

In October 2018, General Robert Brooks Brown announced changes to the Pacific Pathways program to utilize the Pathways to compete with rivals in the Indo-Pacific area by spending longer time periods in priority nations to build deeper relationships. This design will mean that units will be in hubs in treaty nations for 4–6 months, and will be positioned west of the international date line. The Pathways forces will be able to also provide options to the INDOPACOM commander to assist partner nations in times of need or if needed to transition from competition to conflict.[28][29]

References

1. Marshall, Tyrone (October 15, 2014). "Pacific Pathways Increases Readiness Through Partnership". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
2. Tan, Michelle (August 24, 2016). "Army Grows Pacific Pathways, Ties with Asian Partners". Army Times. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
3. ARMY PACIFIC PATHWAYS: Comprehensive Assessment and Planning Needed to Capture Benefits Relative to Costs and Enhance Value for Participating Units (PDF) (Report). United States Government Accountability Office. November 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
4. Gonzalez, Adora (September 29, 2014). "Keris Strike 14 wraps up in Malaysia". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
5. ARMY PACIFIC PATHWAYS: Comprehensive Assessment and Planning Needed to Capture Benefits Relative to Costs and Enhance Value for Participating Units (PDF) (Report). United States Government Accountability Office. November 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
6. "USARPAC Pacific Pathways 2016 Tri fold" (PDF). U.S. Army Pacific. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
7. Olson, Wyatt (June 8, 2016). "Pacific Pathways training evolves by sending Asian troops to US". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
8. Haux, Kelly (March 28, 2017). "Ghost Brigade Tackles Cobra Gold, Foal Eagle". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
9. Parameswaran, Prashanth (August 1, 2017). "US, Singapore Conclude Biggest Army Exercise". The Diplomat. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
10. Cook, Leon (September 11, 2017). "US, Japanese troops kick off Orient Shield exercise near Mount Fuji". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
11. Klapakis, Donna (February 8, 2018). "599th Trans. Bde. uploads 2IBCT for Pathways". Hawaii Army Weekly. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
12. Panzino, Charlsy (December 29, 2017). "New in 2018: National Guard unit to lead Pacific Pathways for first time". Army Times. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
13. Kimmons, Sean (October 11, 2018). "Second phase of Multi-Domain Task Force pilot headed to Europe". Army Times. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
14. Fikken, Nikki (July 27, 2018). "First land-based missile launch performed at RIMPAC exercise". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
15. Kimmons, Sean (June 15, 2018). "Multi-Domain Task Force set to lead Pacific Pathways rotation in first overseas tests". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
16. Olson, Wyatt (February 6, 2019). "Consecutive exercises in Thailand kick off new twist for Army's Pacific Pathways". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
17. Solomon, Ariel (March 8, 2019). "U.S. and Philippine Service Members train side-by-side during Salaknib 2019". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
18. Northrup, Samuel (February 11, 2019). "U.S. and Thai armies complete exercise Hanuman Guardian 19". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
19. Northrup, Samuel (February 18, 2019). "Soldiers train with allies to survive the jungle". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
20. Solomon, Ariel (March 12, 2019). "US, Philippine service members train side-by-side during Salaknib". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
21. Wakefield, Francis (April 10, 2019). "RP-US forces engage in live fire exercise as part of Balikatan 2019". The Manila Bulletin. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
22. Houston, Whitney (April 15, 2019). "Exercise Palau 2019 Marks Largest U.S. Army Presence on Palau In Three Decades". U.S. Army. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
23. Olson, Wyatt (April 7, 2019). "US soldiers return to Palau for exercise after 37-year hiatus". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
24. "Exercise Talisman Sabre formally launched on USS Ronald Reagan". Australian Aviation. July 8, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
25. Dillon, Louis (July 8, 2019). "Spy Games: All eyes on Australia as Exercise Talisman Sabre launches". Defence Connect. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
26. Greene, Andrew (July 12, 2019). "See that thing that looks like a soccer ball? It's how this Chinese ship will spy on war games in Qld". ABC News. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
27. Danford, Iva (March 4, 2019). "150 U.S Army soldiers to attend Pacific Pathways exercise in Fiji". Fijivillage. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
28. South, Todd (October 8, 2018). "Pacific Pathways: Army rotations will go to fewer places but stay longer". Army Times. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
29. Judson, Jen (November 25, 2018). "Head of US Army Pacific Command talks multidomain challenges in the region". Army Times. Retrieved April 21, 2019.