Commander, Task Force (CTF) 56 hosted a Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) memorial ceremony at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, June 30.

CTF-56 Sailors gathered to remember and pay tribute to the 51 service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice during combat operations throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

The guest speaker for the ceremony, Capt. Jim McGovern, commodore, CTF-56, reminded everyone in attendance that freedom does not come without sacrifice.

"Since gaining our independence, over 1.1 million Americans have lost their lives protecting what America is best known for -- freedom," said McGovern. "This historic American milestone did not come without cost to our greatest American treasure, our military forces. Without the selfless sacrifice of our men and women in the armed forces, our country would without question not be free."

As part of the ceremony, the names of the 51 fallen service members were read aloud and their dog tags were hung on CTF-56's newly-built Fallen Warrior Memorial.

"The unveiling of this fallen warrior memorial is extremely important because it serves as a constant reminder," said McGovern. "The freedom we enjoy today is never free, and our expeditionary heroes are never to be forgotten."

Commander, Task Force 56 plans and executes expeditionary combat support throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The task force encompasses nine task groups whose missions range from explosive ordnance disposal and navy diving, naval construction forces and expeditionary logistics support, maritime interdiction operations and maritime security, to embarked security teams and combat camera.

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