EAST CHINA SEA (March 2 , 2023) Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Airman Parker Mclean, from Spokane, Wash., assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), launches a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) during Exercise Iron Fist while underway in the East China Sea, March 2, 2023. Iron Fist is an annual bilateral exercise designed to increase interoperability and strengthen the relationships between the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. America, lead ship of the America Amphibious Ready Group, is operating in the 7th Fleet area of operations. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Thomas B. Contant)