USS Mustin conducts live-fire exercise in Indian Ocean

Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Pedro Cortes, left, from Georgia, observes Logistics Specialist Seaman Grant Lacanin, from North Carolina, as he fires an M2A1 .50-caliber machine gun from the midships of Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) during a live-fire exercise while underway in the Indian Ocean, July 4, 2026. Mustin 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 Timothy Dimal)