201013-N-XG173-1010 ARABIAN GULF (Oct. 13, 2020) Personnel

201013-N-XG173-1010 ARABIAN GULF (Oct. 13, 2020) Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Brian Knox (left), from Los Angeles, and Machinist's Mate Fireman Dalton Ehrp, from Bennington, Neb., both assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), prepare to cut a cake on the mess deck during a U.S. Navy 245th birthday celebration in the Arabian Gulf, Oct. 13. John Paul Jones is part of Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aja Bleu Jackson)