211116-N-YD864-1003 SINT EUSTATIUS, Netherlands - (Nov. 16, 2021) -- Members of the rifle team on the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) conduct a 21-gun salute in honor of Statia Day, Nov. 16, 2021. Statia Day is a national holiday celebrated on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius. It celebrates the “first salute” when Sint Eustatius, locally known as Statia, became the first country to recognize the United States as a nation 245 years ago when after the U.S. declared independence, a Continental Navy ship fired a gun salute upon entering the harbor, and the island, by order of the Dutch governor, returned the salute. Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Juel Foster/Released)