Sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) heave a line during a replenishment-at-sea with Royal New Zealand Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment ship HMNZS Aotearoa (A 11) during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 in the Pacific Ocean, July 13. Twenty-nine nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 27 to Aug. 1. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2024 is the 29th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class R. Ezekiel Duran)
