U.S. Marines and Sailors from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) conducted a final vehicle washdown operation in Kuwait June 29-July 3.

For many of the Sailors and Marines aboard New Orleans, the washdown is a critical final step to prepare for their voyage home as part of a 7-month Western Pacific deployment.

"The washdown is a routine part of any MEU deployment," said Staff Sgt. Andron Anderson. "All vehicles, cargo, and containers that departed the ship -- to include the vehicle stowage areas and ammunition holds -- must be clear of soil residue and plant debris."

Along with this evolution being one of New Orleans' final checks before heading back to homeport, it is also an essential step in ensuring the U.S. is protected from any kind of foreign contaminate.

"We are protecting the ship from introducing invasive species that could be harmful to our agriculture and environment when we return stateside," said Gunnery Sgt. Michael Briggs. "Introduction and dissemination of soil, communicable diseases, pests, wildlife, arthropod vectors, undesirable non-native species, and other substances foreign to our agriculture may cause harm to crops, livestock, and our water supply."

New Orleans executes a washdown of vehicles and equipment in five phases: planning, site establishment, washdown and maintenance operations, agricultural and quarantine inspections, and site clean-up.

After the vehicles were cleared, they were loaded back aboard New Orleans.

"It was a lot of hard work," said Seaman Adam White. "But knowing it was bringing us a step closer to going home made it all worth it."

New Orleans is part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 13th MEU, is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

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For more information on the New Orleans, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/lpd18/ or http://www.facebook.com/BigEasy18/.

For more news from USS Boxer (LHD 4), visit http://www.navy.mil/.