EVERETT — The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Ingraham (FFG 61) departs Naval Station Everett on Tuesday, March 11, for a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility.

During the deployment, Ingraham will support Operation Martillo by conducting counter-drug patrols in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central and South America, and in the Caribbean Sea.

Launched in January of 2012, Operation Martillo targets illicit trafficking routes and is an international, interagency operation which includes the participation of 14 countries committed to a regional approach against transnational criminal organizations moving illicit cargo.

U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 104 and the “Scorpions” of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light 49 will embark with Ingraham for the deployment.

The Ingraham’s crew of approximately 200 personnel is commanded by Cmdr. Joey Frantzen from Saint Donatus, Iowa.

“The Ingraham crew has spent the last year preparing for this deployment,” said Frantzen. “While we will miss our families and loved ones, we are excited and looking forward to the unique opportunity to work closely with our friends and allies while in support of our nation’s longstanding commitment to keep the world’s oceans free.”

Ingraham’s motto is the “last and the finest,” and the ship is the final Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate to be built.