SOUTH CHINA SEA (June 10, 2024) Sailors prepare an EA-18G Growler from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137 for flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the South China Sea, June 10, 2024. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command forces perform operations in and around critical sea passages and trade thoroughfares to deter threats that create regional instability and impinge on the free flow of goods, people, and ideas. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Adina Phebus)