ARABIAN SEA (Jan. 29, 2021) Capt. Matthew Thomas, executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), participates in a mass casualty training exercise in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Nimitz, the flagship of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific 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 Joseph Calabrese)