PACIFIC OCEAN (May 13, 2021) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Brendon Smith, right, from Greenville, S.C., and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Patrick Whalen, left, from Bremerton, Wash., prepare COVID-19 vaccines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), May 13, 2021. Sailors and Marines of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are underway off the coast of southern California. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Sang Kim)