The littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Freedom (LCS 1) achieved its first drug seizure Feb. 22 when it disrupted a high-speed "go-fast" vessel and recovered more than a quarter of a ton of cocaine. Freedom, with embarked Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22, an LCS Surface Warfare Mission Package and a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), was conducting counter-illicit trafficking (CIT) operations in U.S.

As part of Operation Unified Response, the U.S. military has moved food, water, medical supplies, and medically evacuated injured citizens and transported military personnel throughout Haiti to meet the humanitarian needs in cities all around the country. Stories of these resupply missions, aid distributions and heroic medical feats have touched the hearts of people around the world ever since the devastating earthquake hit Port-au-Prince Jan.

Servicemembers throughout Haiti have seen improved morale as a result of several quality of life improvements thanks to 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldiers and the rest of the team within Joint Logistics Command - Haiti. While support to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief continues, U.S. forces are now eating food other than MREs, receiving mail, and sending their dirty clothes out for laundry service. The first improvement to morale comes from enjoying meal supplements and "Heater Meals". Examples of meal supplements include shelf-stable milk and fresh fruit.

Air Force engineers from the Kansas Air National Guard conducting a routine survey of the field adjacent to the airport in Port-au-Prince discovered a group of Airmen had been there before. While recently leveling the field, Airmen of the 190th Air Refueling Wing and 184th Intelligence Wing noticed the words "820 RHS 94 95 96" on an enormous concrete block. The podium shaped block was so large, engineers driving earthmovers left it in the center of the newly formed 24th Air Expeditionary Group encampment. "Discovering this was a complete surprise to me," s

Humanitarian assistance in the form of food, water, mattresses and tents have poured into Haiti from countries around the world in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the southern region of this small Caribbean nation. On Feb. 16, Army Landing Craft Utility 2006 assisted in the delivery of donations from the country of Colombia. The "Briscoe Station" transferred the supplies from a civilian vessel anchored off Killick, Haiti to a smaller pier on shore.

Citizens living in a sprawling tent city in north Port-au-Prince were visited by members of a U.S. Special Operations civil affairs team Feb.

The Navy's first littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1), left Naval Station Mayport Feb. 16 for her maiden operational deployment to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) areas of focus. During the independent deployment, Freedom will participate in counter-illicit trafficking (CIT) operations off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. A U.S.

A small team of officers at Joint Base Charleston was recently called upon to bridge the gap between South Carolina repatriation efforts and Air Force flights transporting Haiti evacuees to Charleston International Airport in South Carolina. For weeks, Air Force space-available airlift had transported evacuees to other areas of the United States, but after an announcement the week of Feb. 7 that flights into Charleston's airport were planned, the need for Airmen to act as an intermediary became apparent. Col.