Command Master Chief Andrew Tyler, from Oakland, Calif., center, and the Royal New Zealand Navy sailors aboard Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42). Germantown, part of America Expeditionary Strike Group, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit team, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serves as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.