U.S. Marines Lance Cpl. Ryan Rittenhouse and Cpl. Adrian McCabe from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, take a defensive position in tall grass after disembarking from a U.S. Marine CH-53 Super Stallion from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay, at the Kahuku Training Area, (KTA) near the north shore of Ohau, Hawaii July 31, 2012, in support of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2012. Soldiers from New Zealand, U.S. Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and marines from Republic of Korea, landed at KTA to conduct a multinational air assault-training mission to clear a simulated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) manufacturing site. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from Jun. 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the worlds oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971.
Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth
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