U.S. 4th Fleet

Top Stories 2020: U.S. Coast Guard

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew based out of Air Station Kodiak and deployed aboard Cutter Alex Haley, prepares for a helicopter in-flight refueling at sea evolution with the cutter crew during a search and rescue case near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. US Coast Guard Photo

This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.

This year saw the Coast Guard conducting numerous counter-drug operations as the Trump administration increased its...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/01/top-stories-2020-u-s-coast-guard

West Coast Amphib USS Comstock off Honduras for Hurricane Relief, Anti-Drug Operations

Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD-45) steams in formation during Valiant Shield 2020 off Guam. US Navy Photo

A West Coast amphibious warship transited the Panama Canal on Monday on a mission to support anti-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, Navy officials told USNI News.

USS Comstock (LSD-45) passed through the canal and the ship is planning to take up station off the coast of Honduras, U.S. 4th Fleet spokesperson Cmdr. Kate Meadows told USNI News.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/24/west-coast-amphib-uss-comstock-off-honduras-for-hurricane-relief-anti-drug-operations

Rare Electric Narco Submarine Seized in Colombia

H I Sutton Image. Used with permission

Central and South American drug runners are continuing to create new specialized smuggling vessels to move narcotics into the U.S., as evidenced by a sophisticated electric submersible seized earlier this month.

On Nov. 5 the Colombian Navy, assisting by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and local law enforcement agencies, raided an artisan boatyard near the Cucurrupí River in the Chocó area of Colombia. Under a makeshift roof they discovered a high-capacity...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/16/rare-electric-narco-submarine-seized-in-colombia

Littoral Combat Ship USS Gabrielle Giffords on Anti-Drug Patrols in SOUTHCOM

USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) transits the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Oct. 6, 2020. US Navy Photo

Littoral Combat Ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) is now operating in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility to aid in performing anti-drug operations after a year-long deployment in the Pacific.

A Navy spokesperson confirmed to USNI News that Giffords, along with USS Sioux City (LCS-11), USS Detroit (LCS-7) and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110), are currently...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/14/littoral-combat-ship-uss-gabrielle-giffords-on-anti-drug-patrols-in-southcom

Destroyer USS Pinckney Pulls into San Diego After Extended Deployment

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following the successful completion of a nine-month deployment. While deployed, Pinckney spent time in the U.S. 4th and 7th Fleet areas of operation. U.S. Navy Photo

Destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91) pulled into the San Diego harbor on Monday after an extended deployment that lasted nearly nine months, the Navy announced.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer first...

Destroyers USS Stout, USS Kidd Wrap Up Long-Haul Deployments

The guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG-55), right, and the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) transits the Arabian Gulf April 26 2020. U.S. Navy Photo

Destroyer USS Stout (DDG-55) recently achieved a record-breaking deployment length after operating at sea for more than 200 days, the Navy announced.

As of Sept. 26, the destroyer had been at sea for 208 straight days, breaking cruiser USS San Jacinto’s (CG-56) and aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower’s (CVN-69) records, according...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/29/destroyers-uss-stout-uss-kidd-wrap-up-long-haul-deployments

Littoral Combat Ship USS Sioux City Joins SOUTHCOM Anti-Drug Mission in First Deployment

Information Specialist 1st Class Matthew Stephenson mans the lines as the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS-11) gets underway on Aug. 30, 2020. US Navy Photo

USS Sioux City (LCS-11) deployed over the weekend to U.S. Southern Command to aid in conducting counter-narcotic missions, the Navy recently announced.

Sioux City, a Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship commissioned in 2018, will have a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) aboard, in addition to an MQ-8B Fire...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/01/littoral-combat-ship-uss-sioux-city-joins-southcom-anti-drug-mission-in-first-deployment

U.S. Destroyer Conducts Second Freedom of Navigation Operation off Venezuela in a Month

Lt. j.g Alexander Fanning uses a radar system in the pilothouse of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91) on May 28, 2020. US Navy Photo

A U.S. guided-missile destroyer conducted a freedom of navigation operation off the coast of Venezuela, U.S. Southern Command announced on Wednesday.

USS Pinckney (DDG-91) “challenged Venezuela’s excessive maritime claim in international waters,” according to the statement from SOUTHCOM.
“[Venezuela] improperly claims excessive...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/16/u-s-destroyer-conducts-second-freedom-of-navigation-operation-off-venezuela-in-a-month

Destroyers Continue to Prowl 4th Fleet As Coast Guard, Navy Rack Up $1B in Drug Seizures

USS Pinckney (DDG-91), with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) team, conducts enhanced counter-narcotics operations on May 14, 2020. US Coast Guard

The Navy has had more warships operating in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific in the last three months than it has in the last five years, pushing the results of a U.S. effort to seize drugs at sea to all-time highs.

Since the start of April, an average of six warships with embarked Coast Guard law enforcement...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/02/destroyers-continue-to-prowl-4th-fleet-as-coast-guard-navy-rack-up-1b-in-drug-seizures

Faller: Navy Deployments to SOUTHCOM About More Than Just Drug Trafficking

Sailors man the rails aboard the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS-9) on Feb. 6, 2020

THE PENTAGON – A renewed presence of U.S. warships in Southern Command has military dimensions beyond providing a platform for law enforcement to interdict drug traffickers, the SOUTHCOM commander told USNI News this week.

On Thursday, Littoral Combat Ship USS Little Rock (LCS-9) left for its maiden deployment in the region. It’s the second LCS deployment to SOUTHCOM within the last year,...

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/07/faller-navy-deployments-to-southcom-about-more-than-just-drug-trafficking

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