Crew and families happily reunite for the Cutter Northland’s return to return to homeport Jan. 28, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Sarah B. Foster)
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Families, friends and well-wishers welcomed home the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Northland Thursday following a 56-day Eastern Pacific patrol that resulted in a combined seizure of more than 7,500 kilos of cocaine and methamphetamine.
“I’m proud of my crew’s efforts during a high-paced deployment in the Eastern Pacific,” said Cmdr. Jason H. Ryan, commanding officer of the Cutter Northland. “Their hard work and tangible results have made a difference by keeping drugs off the streets of the United States and our partner nations to our South.”
The crew worked throughout the holidays carrying out counter-drug and search and rescue missions.
These counter-drug interdictions were carried out as part of Operation Martillo, an international operation focused on sharing information and bringing together air, land, and maritime assets from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and Western Hemisphere and European partner nation agencies to counter illicit trafficking.
