Senior enlisted leaders from allied and partner nations gathered during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 to participate in a series of Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) briefs and professional development sessions focused on strengthening multinational leadership, improving interoperability and sharing best practices across the Indo-Pacific.

The discussions brought together senior enlisted advisors representing the Pacific Region partners attending RIMPAC 2026 to exchange perspectives on leadership, force development, operational readiness and the role of noncommissioned officers in today's increasingly complex security environment.

Throughout the sessions, leaders discussed the importance of empowering junior leaders, building cohesive multinational teams, analyzing security threats, humanitarian aid, and fostering a culture of trust that enables partnering forces to operate effectively together during combined operations.

These professional development forums helped support RIMPAC's training goals by emphasizing that successful multinational operations rely not only on advanced capabilities but also on strong relationships among the enlisted leaders who are in charge of their formations.

U.S. Marine Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Joy M. Kitashima said, “There is brilliance happening across all of our services right now. This is an opportunity to share it.”

This opportunity to share knowledge is what CSEL briefs excel at. It allows for not only U.S service members to gain important and pertinent skills and information, but it also allows our partnering nations to join in to learn and share as well.

The classroom discussions encouraged participants to share lessons learned from their respective services while exploring common leadership challenges faced throughout their regions.

Thirty nations, over 30 surface ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 206 aircraft and 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.The Command Senior

Enlisted Leader engagements reinforce RIMPAC's broader objective of strengthening professional relationships among allied and partner forces. By sharing knowledge and developing mutual understanding at the enlisted level, participating nations improve their ability to respond together to future challenges while supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.