Two CH-53E Sea Stallions hover over the ocean while

Two CH-53E Sea Stallions hover over the ocean while preparing to drop F470 Combat Rubber Raiding Crafts while conducting ship-to-shore assault training during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2014. RIMPAC trains and improves leadership at all levels, including individual proficiency, and sharpens command and control skills while challenging participants to adapt to changing conditions as part of a joint or combined force. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 26 to Aug. 1 in and around the Hawaiian Island and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps foster and sustains the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2014 is the 24th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Wesley Timm/Released)