McInerney (FFG 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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ThcClo-last liilK ciiuullcd m llaiiic i Our third bust took a lot of patience and INTEL gathering. We had information that a Go-Fast ' would be meeting a Logistic ' s Support Vehicle (LSV) in our patrol area. We vaited and -waited, but it paid of£ big time! We caught the Go-Fast and LSV at the same time. The LSV was a fishing boat from Panama named Atlantic Fish and they had drugs hidden on the boat. Our Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LE Det.) wasn ' t about to give up. After a thorough search of the boat, they realized there was a section of the boat they could not get to. Then looking harder, they found fresh cement under the boat ' s | stove. Sure enough, JACKPOT! Another cool thing about this bust was that we were able to turn the Go-Fast over to the Panamanian Coast Guard. When we pulled in a few days later, the ex-Go-Fast was our Security Escort Boat! Also, the Atlantic Fish was on the next pier from us. At this point our torpedo magazine was filled with around lO tons of cocaine. We had to off-load in Mayport during our mid-deployment IMAV. Looking down Worn the 02 level into the Go- Fast. You can see the drugs between the flanie; h ' s not |ust a lob. rew members fight the fire to save the evidence As for our fourth bust, there aren ' t -words to describe it! I ' ll let the pictures tell you. 51

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Mclnemey had tour major drug busts during our deployment. We netted over 12 tons of pure coeaine We detained 30 suspected drug runners and confiscated two Go Fasts and a fishing boat. If they didn t burn ' cm c jot cm. C) cr three tons of pure cocaine that will ii .American streets ' A a y P-} help Our Eirst bust was exciting! Venom and a P-3 ■were chasing the drug boat and kept them from escaping into coastal waters. When they realized they ■were not getting aw ay, they dumped the drugs, set the boat on Sire and jumped into the ocean. Mclnemey picked up the suspects and then all the drugs that Venom and the P-3 marked with Smoke Floats. What a TEAM Ihe black dots are bales of ' cocaine. The smoke rises a smoke tloat dropped by enom to mark ihc bale Our second bust w as even more exciting! First it was at night, and second Venom w as not in the air! We had to catch these guys| just by chasing them vith the ship! When we got close, they ■would quickly change direction. We w ere not about to let them get away. After a long zigzag chase, ' warning shots Srom our Brow ning .50 Cal. machine guns and their overheating engines, they gave up. They had dropped all the drugs, but w e found them the next day with the help of Venom! captured (io-Kast and Prize C reu do a dri e bv. The crew worked late into the night collecting the cocaine. Here we used the smugglers ow n Go-Fast ti help gel the job done! 50

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Visit, Board, Search, Seizure Team VBSS MAI C iitim Ihonuiyh sc ih OBaiirioii d conducts a h of an L ' SS jw member FC3 Edwards prepare to handle detainees The ships VBSS team was assigned to guard all the detainees we welcomed aboard. They would set up. what was jokingly called Cellblock liight . J on the 02 level under the mast. ■s. Then it was their job to watch and care for them. From feeding them to showers to exercising, the VBSS Team kept the watch. Thc also switched gears when we went into the UNITAS phase of the deployment. We participated in mock boardings with the USS O ' Bannon and the Chilean, French, Panamanian and Costa Rican navies ' version of VBSS. Along with a team of British Commandos and one of our own SEAL Teams. The team was busy. but they had fun! and after shots of GSMl(SW) Syfert. he was on a water ride at Disney! Members of our VBSS Team train in our gym with ih Coast Guard LE Det. Training in light areas help t)Mt(SV ) Snumek prepare for real situations. ready to go. Mcmheis ,.| ilie iciin e e. detainee U ' ilie processing site