SOUTH CHINA SEA (Dec. 29, 2023) Seaman Brendan Cassidy, from Winchester, Virginia, pulls the safety pin from the pelican hook prior to its release aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) during a replenishment-at-sea with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon (T-AO 202). The pelican hook secures the highline to the long link on Sterett's sliding padeye. Sterett is assigned to Carrier Strike Group 1 and deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Charles J. Scudella III)