Colquitt native a gunner's mate on USS Ronald Reagan

Jun. 5—PHILIPPINE SEA — Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Braden McDonald, right, from Colquitt, fires a .50-caliber machine gun during a live-fire exercise on the fantail of the U.S. Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, as well as the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world's international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.