As the steam pours out of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Regan's catapults, an aviation boatswain's mate (handling) (ABH) directs the next aircraft in position for launch. ABHs are tasked with the safe directing of aircraft around the flight deck and hangar bays. The 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.