180724-N-MQ094-0117 PACIFIC OCEAN (July 24, 2018) Midshipman Noelle Siroit lowers signal flags aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) during a replenishment-at-sea with the Royal Canadian Navy supply ship MV Asterix during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, July 24, 2018. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 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 among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Ethan T. Miller/Released)