Nov. 4, 2008, The USS Freedom (LCS 1) berths in Milwaukee harbor preparing for her commissioning on Nov. 8. The USS Freedom (LCS 1) is the first of two littoral combat ships being produced for the Navy. Freedom is an innovative combatant designed to operate quickly in shallow water environments to counter challenging threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, submarines and fast surface craft. U.S. Navy photo by John Sheppard.