KODIAK, Alaska - The USS Lake Erie, front, an Aegis-class guided missle-cruiser homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the USS Decatur, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missle destroyer homeported in San Diego and the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, a national security cutter homeported in Alameda, Calif., transit the Gulf of Alaska in formation June 17, 2011. Operation Northern Edge is being conducted in the Gulf of Alaska as several members of the nation's armed services participate in Alaska's largest military exercise. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen.