200530-N-DL524-1017

PHILIPPINE SEA (May 30, 2020) Lt. Bryan Dietel, right, assists Vice Adm. William R. Merz, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, with donning flight gear prior to a flight on an F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102, on the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Merz visited the officers and crew of Ronald Reagan and Carrier Strike Group 5 to discuss the critical nature of the maritime mission in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, as well as the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific Region.