Coast Guard Cutter Forward returns

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - The Coast Guard Cutter Forward returns to Portsmouth Monday after a 45-day patrol in the Caribbean Sea.

"It feels very good to come back from a 45-day patrol, having left just after Thanksgiving and to come back with two busts, and know that over $50 million worth of drugs are out of that supply chain," Cmdr. Greg Wisener said.

The crew seized the narcotics in support of Operation Martillo.

“Operation Martillo is a U.S., European and Western Hemisphere partner nation effort launched in January 2012, targeting illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus,” a release from the Coast Guard explained.

Although the crew missed the holidays, Commander Rachel Lewis said she had an important role in protecting the future.

"We all have families," Lewis said. "I have two little ones and so it's important in everyone's lives to make sure that we can stop it.  Either on a little scale or helping the other nations because it's definitely a worldwide concern."