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U.S. Navy Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Avalos looks through an alidade telescope on the port bridge wing aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) in the Surigao Strait, April 26, 2026. Fitzgerald is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. U.S 7th Fleet, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Victoria Armstrong)