210816-N-WU807-1074

Command Senior Chief Donald Alvarado, from Tucson, Ariz., watches as Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18) pulls into port, Aug. 16. Charleston, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operation to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.