SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 8, 2021) Gunner’s Mate Seaman Apprentice Eric Marte, from Port St. Lucie, Fla., fires an M240B machine gun during a live-fire exercise aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG 59), April 8, 2021. Russell, part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. As the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed fleet, 7th Fleet routinely operates and interacts with 35 maritime nations while conducting missions to preserve and protect a free and open Indo-Pacific Region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Wade Costin)