OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. Warship photograph collection

ASH SHUAIBA, Kuwait (March 23, 2004)-Chief Boatswain's Mate Andrew O'Connell, 31, from Orlando, Fla., keeps a look out for possible threats while on a patrol with the USCGC Baranof, a 110-foot patrol boat from Miami, Fla. O'Connell is a member of Coast Guard Port Security Unit 307 from St. Petersburg, Fla., currently deployed to the region to help protect the Port of Ash Shuaiba and coalition ships involved in the largest redeployment of troops and equipment since World War II. The troops and equipment are heading into and out of Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Coast Guard Port Security Units are comprised mostly of reservists and are often deployed overseas to protect strategic ports used by the U.S. Navy and coalition forces. The Coast Guard also has deployed four 110-foot patrol boats to the Arabian Gulf to assist the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet with Maritime Interdiction Operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. USCG Photo by PA1 Matthew Belson