220526-N-BR419-1141

220526-N-BR419-1141 PHILIPPINE SEA (May 26, 2022) Aviation Machinist’s Mate Airman Dominique Mendez-Lopez, from Brandywine, Maryland, directs a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) SH-60K Seahawk, attached to the JMSDF destroyer JS Teruzuki (DD 116), on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). The U.S. Navy and JMSDF routinely conduct naval exercises together, strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Oswald Felix Jr.)