ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT —
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will hold trilateral talks with his Japanese and Korean counterparts during a short trip to Hawaii.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey will meet with South Korean Navy Adm. Choi Yun-hee and Japanese Air Defense Force Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki.
The chairman will also meet with U.S. Pacific Command’s commander, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, and the U.S. commander in Korea, Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, as well as component commanders.
He will also speak at the Honolulu International Forum.
In addition to furthering military-to-military contacts among the United States, Japan and South Korea, the chairman will also receive briefings about the Rim of the Pacific exercise.
RIMPAC is one of the largest U.S. military exercises and his held every two years. This year’s iteration began June 26 and will run through Aug. 1. A total of 22 nations, 49 surface ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate.
Units from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States will participate.
(Follow Jim Garamone on Twitter: @GaramoneAFPS)