Story Tellers of RIMPAC

HONOLULU -- Hai moʻolelo, the Hawaiian term for telling stories, is foundational to sharing history, genealogy and traditions with each generation. Tribes, villages, nations and regions have shared stories, wisdom and more with one another. Nations across borders and oceans would trade independent solutions for social innovation. Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the world's largest maritime warfare exercise, embodies the idea of hai mo’olelo by bringing together 30 allied nations to collaborate and compete against one another to spur growth through shared ideas and tactics. The storytellers of RIMPAC are the public affairs professionals across the armed services of participating nations.

RIMPAC builds on maritime training and interoperability, achieving respective national objectives and strengthening integrated and prepared coalition partners. The public affairs and visual information experts assigned to the Combined Joint Information Bureau (CJIB) communicate how that is attained. The CJIB is comprised of protocol, production and media. Each cell works to capture movements, engagements, training and other events to proudly create and communicate the public-facing stories of RIMPAC.

“I am proud to be a part of 30 nations sharing the same message,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jesus Uranga, CJIB Director. “Capturing imagery and sharing the narratives of nations ensures RIMPAC is successful. The public affairs of RIMPAC is a critical piece of the exercise to ensure domestic and international audiences witness a strong alliance. We build stronger bonds with other nations as we connect on having similar issues, experiences and building mutual trust with one another.”

“For public affairs professionals, RIMPAC is the greatest opportunity to complete all qualifications, grow public affairs skills, network and build relationships with other units,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Darin Russel, CJIB Chief of Staff. “All aspects of public affairs happen at RIMPAC; aerial operations, ship movements, underwater camera, ceremonies and symposiums all in one place.”

“Attending RIMPAC as a reservist has been beneficial because reservists don’t work in the Navy full-time. Completing our mandatory annual training at RIMPAC is beneficial to professional development goals due to the high visibility and engagement of leaders around the world,” said U.S. Navy Ensign Nathan Velasco, Media Cell Action Officer. “I enjoy the dynamic environment, working with leadership and understanding the tempo of the team as we adapt to the exercise.”

“I had the opportunity to go inside a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft to capture an air-sea rescue kit supply drop training. This was my first assignment in an aircraft,” said U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christopher Nielsen.

“My assignments have been capturing B-roll for others to build projects,” shares U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nathan Cahall. “I've focused on action shots to ensure the clips stay interesting and engage viewers.”

“My favorite assignment was covering the multinational special warfare forces training in a simulated town,” said U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gabriela Sapien. “I have never shot anything like it and had so much fun. I appreciated the opportunity to witness different countries, Peru, Mexico, the Philippines and U.S. forces collaborate toward common goals.”

“We ran some surface IED drills with the Royal New Zealand Navy EOD technicians in the jungle on Oahu’s Kahuku training area,” said U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class August Clawson. “It was raining, shooting in abnormal environments always produces great images.”

“My greatest challenge in supporting the CJIB would be applying Metadata for the Defense Visual Information System,” said Royal Australian Navy Leading Seaman Imagery Specialist Shaun Chatfield. I am in the Royal Australian Navy; we have different processes and writing styles; converting to a standard suitable for DVIDS is a time-consuming process,”.

“This metadata is crucial in supporting accessibility of imagery for worldwide civilian audiences,” said U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zachary Dyer. “The Department of War has a responsibility to the taxpayer to share visual imagery. Imagery is considered an official record and falls under recordkeeping standards to maintain local and national archives.”

Curating content for public consumption, Captain Christine MacNeil, Royal Canadian Air Force, is charged with leading social media for RIMPAC.

“My team provides the social media coverage, reaching thousands of viewers daily; we highlight the various nations, exercises and activities to a wide audience and work to support messaging around the themes of RIMPAC 26,” said MacNeil.

“Most people see the final photo, video or news story, but they don’t see the planning behind it,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Alyssa Meyers, CJIB Future Operations lead. “Our team spent weeks coordinating media embark opportunities, in-port tours, distinguished visitor engagements, interviews, imagery support, command messaging and daily operations. We work long hours, including weekends, and continue that effort through the final day of the exercise. Telling the RIMPAC story is equally comprised of planning as execution.”

“The CJIB team works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that the story of RIMPAC reaches audiences around the world,” said Chilean Navy Lt. j.g. Ivo Brito, Media Cell Action Officer. “Every press event, every interview and every article is the result of careful coordination and hard work by a dedicated team. Being part of the CJIB during RIMPAC allowed me to contribute to something larger than myself, I am grateful for this experience.”

RIMPAC 26 is the largest multinational maritime exercise in the world. The stories of RIMPAC are shared through the CJIB and the respective Public Affairs teams of all participants. Hai moʻolelo, the telling of stories, is happening in Hawaii and the surrounding Pacific between 30 nations and their respective militaries. A tribal tradition of sharing knowledge, strategy, successes and failures and crafting new relationships beyond borders continues today.

Thirty nations, 30 ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 190 aircraft and more than 30,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 24 to July 31. 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 on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2026 is the 30th exercise in the series that began in 1971.