If your sailor is stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, they will likely participate in RIMPAC (June 27 to August 1, 2024 ). The biennial exercise is a multinational maritime training opportunity that involves more than 25,000 personnel from 29 nations, including 40 surface ships, 3 submarines, 14 national land forces, and over 150 aircraft. The theme for RIMPAC 2024 is “Partners: Integrated and Prepared.”
What is RIMPAC?
Known as the world’s largest international maritime exercise, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) provides a unique training opportunity with military personnel around the world. The exercise aims to foster and sustain 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 and was held annually until 1974, when it became a biennial exercise due to its increasing scale. The founding nations were Australia, Canada and the United States.
Held every two years since 1971, RIMPAC brings an international collection of maritime, land, and air units to the Hawaiian Islands to conduct joint exercises that address a number of scenarios such as disaster relief, maritime security operations, sea control, and complex warfighting.
It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy’s Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
For more information, including Open Ship Days to tour ships around the world, click here.
So, how will RIMPAC affect you?
As the exercise begins be prepared for your sailor to have longer work days, dress uniform requirements and other related obligations. Locally, you can expect more traffic and crowds at the BX, NEX and commissary, as well as limited availability at hotel rooms around base and Waikiki.
Our contributor Cat is currently stationed at JBPHH for the third time. She loves to find great places to eat, stand up paddle board and spend time at the beach with her family. Follow her @aloha.mama.cat on IG for more family fun and foodie finds.