PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 10, 2024) Lt. Craig Darling, from Johnstown, N.Y., assigned to Airborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 117, stands by as an E-2D Hawkeye, prepares to perform a touch and go on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Abraham Lincoln, flagship of Carrier Strike Group Three, is underway conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. U.S. 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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman)