SAN DIEGO (May 2, 2012) USS Independence (LCS 2) completes her maiden voyage with arrival in her homeport of San Diego. After two years of training off the coast of Florida, the ship's 23-day transit from Mayport, Fla. to San Diego marks the successful completion of testing of the Mine Countermeasures (MCM) mission package to detect, localize, and destroy mines in a tactical environment. USS Independence also transited the Panama Canal and conducted a port visit and operations with the Mexican Navy. The Littoral Combat Ship is a fast, agile, networked surface combatant designed to operate in the near-shore environment, while capable of open-ocean tasking, and win against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines, and swarming small craft. (U.S. Navy photo by LT Jan Shultis)