Capt. Damon Loveless, executive officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), observes a fueling-at-sea with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) in the Indian Ocean. 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 Sonny Escalante)