Gunner's Mate 1st Class Joe Brown, from Arlington, Texas, mans a 25mm chain gun while on watch in the Persian Gulf. The ship, whose home port is San Diego, California, is deployed with the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) battle group under the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. The USS Benfold is currently conducting Multinational Maritime Interception Operations as part of the United Nations sanctions against Iraq.