ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 8, 2023) Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Ian Sieb, from Holzgerlingen, Germany, assigned to the "Tomcatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, stands by to chain an aircraft following a launch and recovery cycle on the flight deck of the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), March 10, 2023. Gerald R. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean executing its composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX), an intense, multi-week exercise designed to fully integrate a carrier strike group as a cohesive, multi-mission fighting force and to test their ability to carry out sustained combat operations from the sea. As the first-in-class ship of Ford-class aircraft carriers, CVN 78 represents a generational leap in the U.S. Navy's capacity to project power on a global scale. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nolan Pennington)