Twenty-nine countries and over 25,000 military personnel are coming together for the world’s largest maritime military exercise.
The Rim of the Pacific exercise, better known as RIMPAC, happens every two years in Hawaiʻi. This year, it will involve 40 ships, three submarines and over 150 aircraft.
Vice Adm. John Wade, who is leading the exercise, outlined the activities that will be taking place over the next few weeks.
"We're increasing complexity each and every day in all domains, in the air, on and below the sea, and on the ground," he said.
"We're going to be conducting a range of activities from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to amphibious rehearsals, and we will also be conducting some live fire events, and in this phase will also be conducting experimentation, approximately 30 events which will test new capabilities or use existing capabilities in different ways."
This year’s RIMPAC will host its largest humanitarian aid and disaster relief exercise, which will include the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.
Wade previously was the commander of the joint task force that oversaw the removal of the fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill facility.
That connection to Hawaiʻi, he said, is one of the reasons why Wade made environmental stewardship a priority — especially when transferring fuel between ships.
"Clearly with hazardous materials, especially in the backdrop of Hawaiʻi and what has happened here with the environment we want to make sure that we do it right, we're good stewards and we're following procedures," he said.
"It's about professionalism, being excellent and being prepared for what we're doing."
The exercise will continue until August 1.
