160713-G-XD768-001 JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (July

160713-G-XD768-001 JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (July 13, 2016) Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Brock, a member of the Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team, prepares to deploy boom with crewmembers from the Coast Guard 14th District Response Advisory Team and other members of the Coast Guard National Strike Force during a training evolution to assemble, deploy and operate a Vessel of Opportunity Skimming System aboard the Tug Noha Loa during Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2016. The VOSS is a portable side-skimming oil-recovery system, which can be deployed from most work vessels over 65 feet in length. Twenty-six nations, 49 ships, six submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25-000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships between participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2016 is the 25th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Molle/Released)