220113-N-HS181-1090

From left, Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52), Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Alan Shephard (T-AKE 3), Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), and Wasp-class landing helicopter dock USS Essex (LHD 2) transit the South China Sea, Jan. 13, 2022. Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG) and Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ESX ARG) are conducting joint expeditionary strike force operations in the South China Sea as part of continuing and routine interoperability training operations in the Indo-Pacific region.