INDIAN OCEAN (Dec. 28, 2020) Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Brandon Falkner, from Houston, communicates with the pilots of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the "Battle Cats" of Helicopter Strike Maritime Squadron (HSM) 73 during a helicopter in-flight refueling exercise on the flight deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104). Sterett is part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean through the western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Drace Wilson)