The light infantry platoon from the 1 Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment participated in helicopter underwater egress training at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The training was done in preparation for overwater helicopter activity as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) the world's largest maritime military exercise involving 22 nations and more than 25,000 personnel.
The New Zealand Defence Force is also contributing the HMNZS CANTERBURY, a P-3K2 Orion aircraft with supporting personnel, and the Operational Dive Team and a Mine Countermeasures Team based out of San Diego. There are more than 250 NZDF personnel participating in this six-week-long exercise, which covers a wide spectrum of military training activities ranging from Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief to complex warfighting.