GULF OF THAILAND (June 14, 2016) – U.S. Sailors and Marines aboard the forward-deployed Whidbey Island Class dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) , pull a supply rope while performing a replinishment at sea in the Gulf of Thailand June 14, while underway in support of exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). CARAT is a series of annual, bilateral maritime exercises between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations to include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. (U.S. Navy photo by Lance Cpl. Carl King Jr/. Released)