C-17s ramp up for RIMPAC

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii - 535th Airlift Squadron pilot Capt. Michael Boyer, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., checks map and the Global Positioning System (GPS) readings of a 535th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III before conducting an air drop delivery of 90,000 pounds of supplies to Marines from Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay while flying above the Big Island of Hawaii on June 24, in support of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. This is the 22nd year of RIMPAC, a biennial exercise that promotes interoperability of more than 14 partner nations as a key element of regional stability. There are 14 nations, 32 ships, five submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 20,000 personnel participating in RIMPAC from June 23 through Aug. 1, in the Hawaiian operating area in, and around, the islands of Hawaii. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech Sgt. Cohen A. Young)