240501-N-YG401-1067

SOUTH CHINA SEA (May 1, 2024) Navy Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Melissa Menchaca, from Mission, Texas, stands watch in the pilot house aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), in the vicinity of the South China Sea, May 1. USINDOPACOM forces perform operations in and around critical sea passages and trade thoroughfares to deter threats that create regional instability and impinge on the free flow of goods, people, and ideas. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Benvie)