SOUTH CHINA SEA (May 7, 2017) Ensign Ashley Welker, a Los Angeles native assigned to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104), speaks with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Ensign Chihiro Hironaka aboard JMSDF ship JS Izumo (DDH 183). Sterett is part of the Sterett-Dewey Surface Action Group and is the third deploying group operating under the command and control construct called 3rd Fleet Forward. 3rd Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets.

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