Press Briefing with U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Brent Devore, RIMPAC 2026 Commander of the Expeditionary Strike Group, and Chilean Navy Commodore Andres Howard, RIMPAC 2026 Deputy[...]

MODERATOR: Hello, everyone. I am Amanda Roberson, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of State's Miami Media Hub. This is an on-the-record press briefing in English and Spanish with simultaneous interpretation available to both languages. Please find the globe icon on the lower area of your screen to select your language. (In Spanish.)

(In English) We are privileged to have U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Brent DeVore, RIMPAC 2026 Commander of the Expeditionary Strike Group; and Chilean Navy Commodore Andrés Howard, RIMPAC 2026 Deputy Commander of the Combined Task Force; to offer perspectives on the conclusion of the 2025 Rim of the Pacific Naval Exercise, RIMPAC, the world's largest maritime exercise.

Please be mindful that we have interpreters, and please try to speak slowly when you ask your questions. We will begin this hub call with opening remarks from Rear Admiral DeVore, and then I will moderate questions from journalist.

Rear Admiral DeVore, you may begin your remarks.

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: Buenos días and aloha, everyone. I am Rear Admiral Brent DeVore. I'm the commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, which for the U.S. Navy is based in San Diego. It is my distinct privilege to speak with you today as we wrap up and conclude this 30th iteration of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise.

Importantly, I'm really privileged and honored to be sitting alongside Commodore Andrés Howard of Chile with me, who I've got to know really well over really the past six months, and more importantly as we've concluded and done our exercise here together in RIMPAC 2026.

I also certainly extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the people of Hawaii for hosting us here and allowing us to conduct this vital training here.

This year, as a little bit of context, 30 nations, more than 30 ships, five submarines, over 200 aircraft, and upwards of 30,000 personnel converged in and arrived here in the Hawaiian Islands such that we could conduct the world's largest maritime exercise, running from about June 24th and as we conclude it tomorrow, July 31st.

Our theme this year and for this iteration was "Partners: Integrated and Prepared," which reflects a fundamental truth, and it's that the global maritime environment is simply too large and it's far too complex for any one nation to safeguard alone. The network of alliances and partners here in the region is our greatest advantage, and it's built on that foundation of mutual understanding, respect, and decades to this point of joint exercises together.

The Pacific region is really important. It constitutes nearly two-thirds of the entire global economy, and it's home to over half the world's population. So therefore, the prosperity of this region relies entirely on our ability to provide security and freedom to all nations that enjoy use of the sea.

Through RIMPAC we are advancing a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific for all countries regardless of their size or their strength. And by integrating our forces, we ensure our collective ability to deter aggression, prevent coercion, and protect global supply chains and lines of communications that sustain our interconnected economies.

During this exercise I had the privilege to command the Expeditionary Task Force, which is comprised of forces from Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United States. And through both a series of scripted and later dynamic free-play scenario we demonstrated the inherent flexibility of naval forces at sea, in the air, and on land.

The U.S. Navy Wasp-class Amphibious Ship USS Essex served as our flagship of the amphibious task force with the embarked commanders from the United States Marine Corps and the Peruvian Navy. Captain Marco Castro of the Peruvian Navy led the ships of my amphibious task force, ensuring that our ships were in the optimal position to support and transfer landing forces ashore.

It felt deeply, deeply fitting that we host the world's premier maritime exercise as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. For two and a half centuries America's navy has protected our vital sea lanes, and our nation has built alliances and partnerships based on our shared values.

RIMPAC demonstrates something very simple, and it's a theme I think Andrés and I will come back to: Strong partnerships are built far before they are ever needed. And when 30 nations come together to train side-by-side, we're not just practicing our maneuvers; instead, we're improving our readiness, we're strengthening our trust, and we're ensuring that we can respond together whenever and whatever challenges may bring our way.

Thank you, and Andrés and I look forward to taking your questions.

MODERATOR: We will now begin taking questions from journalists. Please be sure to write your name and your affiliation in the user label to help us identify you. If you have a question, please raise your virtual hand. You may ask your question in Spanish or in English via audio. Once we call on you, please make sure that your microphone is open. Alternatively, you may submit your question in the question-and-answer box. Today's briefing is on the record, attributable to U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Brent DeVore and Chilean Navy Commodore Andrés Howard.

So we will begin with a question from Jordi Zamora from AFP. His question is: "Following these exercises, has the U.S. Navy invited its Latin American partners to participate in the counter-drugs operations currently going on in the Caribbean and the Pacific?" Whichever one of you would like to answer the question would be fine.

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. If any other journalists would like to ask a question, please raise your hand or you may type your question in the question box. I will ask a question from the Miami hub, and this question is for Rear Admiral DeVore: "Why is it important for the United States to collaborate with partners in the Western Hemisphere to achieve our military objectives?"

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: Yes, thank you for that question. The importance of collaboration and really an exercise like RIMPAC is the convening ability to bring so many nations together that all have shared ideals and an understanding that the prosperity that our nations enjoy is ensured by our close partnership with each other, and the ability to rehearse and practice and integrate our forces for any range of different activities, from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the ability to be able to respond to illegal fishing, or anything else that might impact prosperity.

Our collective capability and the relationships that we develop together in exercises like this are really the first - first installment of our ability to be ready to operate together. You cannot surge trust; that's built over time, and it's exercises like this that give us that opportunity.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question will be from Iván Evair Saldana. Iván, please go ahead and ask your question.

QUESTION: (In Spanish.)

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: The importance of exercises like this - and I'll liken it to really a small example that I've noticed - is as we have opportunities to get together, what I will watch is how many each of the nations' officers wear badges that demonstrate where they attended their postgraduate education. And what's really interesting is how common all of our education is and our process and procedures working together. So we really come from a common book, so to speak. And no matter the mission, the process is generally the same. It's understanding the environment that we're operating in, understanding the resources we have to work a problem set together, and then identifying the tradeoffs of what may be the best approach to solving a problem.

So again, RIMPAC and exercises like this - no matter what mission, from humanitarian assistance to a counter-drug intervention to combatting illegal trafficking - all of these things, while they are different missions, the approach to them is quite similar. And it's just a problem-solving process that we all work together to get after.

MODERATOR: Thank you. The next question is from the Miami hub for Commodore Howard: "What is the importance or significance of having Chile mark the first time a Latin American navy takes a command role in RIMPAC?"

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: The next question is from Michelle Rivera, Radio Formula, Formula Notícias. Michelle, you may ask your question now.

QUESTION: (In Spanish.)

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: I'll certainly start and just kind of go back to my last question, which is the training that we do together and the background that we all enjoy is really, at its very core, a problem-solving approach. And we have a shared understanding of how to approach problems, and RIMPAC, our specific exercise here, focused on a broad range - humanitarian assistance, deterring aggression, what if mining were to happen and how to clear that. But I will certainly steer clear and refer back to the State Department for anything specific to ongoing discussions with respect to policy.

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

QUESTION: Gracias.

MODERATOR: Thank you. The next question is from Jordi Zamora of AFP. This question is for Admiral DeVore: "Following these exercises, has the U.S. Navy invited its Latin American partners to participate in the counter-drugs operations currently going on in the Caribbean and the Pacific?"

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: Thank you for that question. I will certainly refer that question back to the State Department. Simply my area of focus in my current assignment has me very Pacific-focused. And as we conclude the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, my current position is facing that direction and I certainly don't want to misspeak or provide anything ill. But back to RIMPAC is the piece is that it's our shared responsibility. And the opportunities that we all recognize and have the same goals of a free and open Pacific - I think many of those themes, I am certain, translate globally. And having partnerships always makes for a stronger approach to husband our resources and be able to work together collectively for shared goals.

MODERATOR: The next question is from Sergio Nicolás Ortiz, Notícias RCN y NTN24. (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR:  Can you repeat the question in English, please?

MODERATOR: Okay. "How does RIMPAC work with and coordinate with the Colombian armed forces to combat illegal trafficking and threats in the hemisphere?"

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: The question - we didn't get the whole question.

MODERATOR: For consistency, can you repeat it one more time?

MODERATOR: Sorry about that. I will repeat the question again. The question is from Sergio Nicolás Ortiz: "How does RIMPAC work with and coordinate with the Colombian armed forces - the Colombian armed forces, of Colombia - to combat illegal trafficking and threats in the hemisphere?"

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: Thank you. This next question is from the Miami hub: "What are the biggest lessons learned from this iteration of RIMPAC?"

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: We can certainly both answer. I tend to think rather than lessons, but rather affirmations of what we continue to be able to remind ourselves and acknowledge things we've got to continue to work on. I don't mean to go back - completely back to this theme, but it is a common theme, is that as a baseline of knowledge, we all share a very similar framework for problem-solving. So that gives us a place of - from which to develop approaches to problems.

So in and as we do that, there will always be language barriers, but those continue to get better and better and reduced each time. Our computer networks and their ability to cross-pollinate and execute the rapid exchange of information - we continue to make improvements on that. As you've seen in other media reports, we have different nations leading different sections of this exercise. That continues to broaden the opportunities because there are leaders everywhere, and the opportunity to rehearse and be in charge of a large operation during a segment of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise is all professional development opportunities. And we embrace those and want to continue to encourage those because they make the collective team so much stronger and so much better and ready to tackle all of our challenges.

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: Excellent. We have time for one or two more questions, so if any other journalists have questions, please write them in the chat or raise your hand.

The next question is from Diego Guzmán of Diario La Hora de Guatemala. The question is: "Which lessons learned during RIMPAC could be applied into operations in Guatemala, such as the combat of narcotrafficking, illegal fishing, and human trafficking?"

MODERATOR: Can you restate one more time, please?

MODERATOR: Could you hear the question? I'll repeat the question again in English from Diego Guzmán. "What lessons learned during RIMPAC could be applied in Guatemala in operations such as the combat of drug trafficking, illegal fishing, and human trafficking?"

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: The next question is from Sergio Nicolás Ortiz, who has raised his hand. Sergio, please ask your question now.

QUESTION: (In Spanish.)

(In English) And in English, I don't know, this question is: How does RIMPAC work and coordinate with the Colombian armed forces to combat illegal trafficking and threats in the hemisphere, exactly in the Pacific Ocean? Thank you.

MODERATOR: Can you please repeat the question?

QUESTION: Sorry, we can't listen.

MODERATOR: Can you please repeat the question?

MODERATOR: Yeah, could you repeat the question in English, please, Sergio?

QUESTION: Yes. Yes. How does RIMPAC work and coordinate with the Colombian armed forces to combat illegal trafficking and threats in the hemisphere, exactly in the Pacific Ocean?

COMMODORE HOWARD: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: Okay, this will be our final question from Michelle Rivera. Michelle, you may ask your question now, please.

QUESTION: (In Spanish.)

MODERATOR: Were you all able to hear the question?

QUESTION: (In Spanish.)

REAR ADMIRAL DEVORE: Hey, thank you for that question. Individual governments and investments are an internal conversation with each of those countries. But what's important to note is that we all have agreement and a shared understanding of the environment that we face and the tools and the assets and the investments each nation is contributing to this combined security environment is helpful.

As I said a little earlier, the convening power of an exercise like this is really incredible. To bring over 30 countries together, all with an understanding of the same need for us to work together and to bring each of our contribution - and even more importantly, that we share leadership roles and leadership positions - is a direct investment by each nation to this same ideal of maintaining prosperity and freedom of the high seas, no matter the size or no matter the contribution, because it's the ideal and the unity that we share in this that makes our best advantage.

QUESTION: Gracias.

MODERATOR: That concludes today's briefing. Thank you all for your participation and thank you to our two briefers for sharing these insights today. An English audio recording will be available online, as well as a transcript in English and Spanish on state.gov. If you all have any questions, journalists, you may email the Miami Media Hub at [email protected]. Thank you and have a good afternoon.

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