With the sun fighting through the haze in the early morning hours, USS Thach steers to port moving into place for a passing exercise with the Indian Navy's Western Fleet. The PASSEX symbolized the completion of the exercise, which was designed to increase cooperation between the Indian and U.S. Navies while enhancing the cooperative security relationship between India and the U.S. Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is on a routine deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility. Operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, the U.S. 7th Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets covering 52 million square miles, with approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines assigned at any given time.