PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 22, 2021) Lt. Brian Aninzo from Conroe, Texas, stands watch as the officer of the deck (OOD) aboard the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1), Jan. 22, 2021. Freedom is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Richard Cho)
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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.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Richard Cho)
