ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 29, 2023) Sailors assigned to the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford's (CVN 78) crash and salvage division observe flight operations as an E/A-18G Growler from the "Gray Wolves" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 142 takes off from the flight deck, March 29, 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 3rd Class Grace Lyles)