160711-N-IK388-183 PACIFIC OCEAN (July 11, 2016) (From left) Mine countermeasures ship USS Champion (MCM 4), Canadian Royal navy Kingston-class coastal defense vessel HMCS Yellowknife (MM 706), amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52), HMCS Saskatoon (MM 709), littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) and three MH-53E Sea Dragons, attached to Mine Countermeasures Squadron, (HM) 14, transit the Pacific Ocean during the Southern California portion of the Rim of the Pacific 2016 photo exercise. Twenty-six nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 30 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 that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are 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. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stacy M. Atkins Ricks/Released)