U.S. Marines and Sailors attend a concert hosted by the USO during Fleet Week Miami aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan on May 11, 2024. LANCE CPL. GRACE STOVER/U.S. MARINE CORPS
THE WATCH STAFF
The inaugural Fleet Week Miami drew five Navy and Coast Guard ships and nearly 7,000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to Florida to promote understanding of the military and the sacrifices made for the nation’s defense. The event, which ran from May 5 to May 12, 2024, included sold-out public tours of the five ships — the USS Harry Truman, the USS Leyte Gulf, the USS Bataan, the USS Normandy and the USCG Seneca— demonstrating significant public interest in the military. As they waited for their free tours, visitors browsed displays of naval history, Navy and Marine technology, and Navy environmental programs, according to militarynews.com, a military affairs website.
The event was moved to Miami in 2024 after decades in the Fort Lauderdale area because of discussions between Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Miami is an emotional touchstone for Del Toro, who arrived in the South Florida city as a child after his family fled from Cuba. “We’re celebrating a new tradition of service in this great city of Miami-Dade County with Fleet Week Miami,” Del Toro said. “Thousands of Sailors, Marines, Coast Guard men and women and civilian employees will take part in events across greater Miami-Dade area, engaging with the American public we serve and stand ready to share their stories and motivation for their careers in public service,” according to Stars and Stripes, a military affairs newspaper.
The week in Miami also was an exciting and rewarding time for the troops, many of whom recently served in combat. The crew of the USS Harry Truman and USS Bataan were deployed to the Middle East after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2024. The USS Leyte Gulf seized $42 million in illegal drugs during a February 2024 patrol in the Caribbean Sea during three separate interdictions. Fleet Week provided the opportunity for Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen and women to experience the cuisine, neighborhoods and nightlife of a global city. “Food, man. I can’t wait to check out the food here,” Lance Cpl. Jakie Wu, an infantry Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, told Stars and Stripes. “Restaurants, definitely. Probably hit the beaches. We’re just going to take it one step at a time and check this city out.”
During Fleet Week, the Coast Guard offloaded $185 million in illegal drugs seized by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, alongside several international partners in six interdictions in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean during a recent deployment. In a collaborative effort, the operation took 6,261 kilograms of cocaine and 1,694 kilograms of marijuana and apprehended 10 suspected smugglers who will face prosecution in the U.S. federal court system, according to a Coast Guard news release. “Our offload today represents the combined efforts of U.S. and allied military units from a Caribbean coalition of partners working together to deny drug trafficking organizations access to maritime smuggling routes,” said Cmdr. David Ratner, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, which is stationed in Key West, Florida. “I am especially proud of the hard work of the Mohawk crew, and grateful for the opportunity to operate with interagency and NATO partners in support of our national security.”
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