NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN (May 18, 2024) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 1st Class Christopher Settle, left, from Columbus, Indiana, and Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 2nd Class Billie Edwards, from Lexington, Kentucky, wave to new Sailors observing flight operations from vulture’s row, on the flight deck aboard the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), in the North Pacific Ocean, May 18. 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.