Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa to a third party. Pirates are rampant along the coast of Somalia and present a hazard to all shipping there; as such, anti-piracy operations are a routine part of Operation Enduring Freedom: Horn of Africa. This is done primarily by the Combined Task Force 150 and in parallel to other independent anti-piracy operations conducted off the coast of Somalia by other countries such as China, India and Russia. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter USCGC "Munro" (WHEC-724), working with carrier and the destroyer in the Gulf of Aden, intercepted a hijacked vessel at around noon on 17 March. The interception was
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa and regional stability and security. Regional stability is increased through capacity-building operations such as civil affairs and military-to-military training; engineering and humanitarian support; medical, dental, and veterinarian civic action programs (MEDCAP, DENTCAP, VETCAP); security training for border and coastal areas; and counter-IED (C-IED) integration training. About 1,800 personnel from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, and representatives from coalition and partner nations make up CJTF-HOA. CJTF-HOA was established at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on October 19, 2002. In November 2002, personnel embarked to the region aboard USS "Mount Whitney" and arrived at the Horn of Africa on December