171020-N-ZZ999-003 MOBILE, Ala. (Oct. 20, 2017) A Sailor assigned to the littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Manchester (LCS 14), places an item into the ceremonial box during a mast-stepping ceremony in Mobile, Ala., Oct. 20, 2017. PCU Manchester is undergoing the final stages of production in the Austal USA shipyard of Mobile, Alabama. LCS vessels are high-speed, agile, shallow draft, mission-focused surface combatants designed for operations in the littoral environment, yet fully capable of open ocean operations. As part of the surface fleet, LCS has the ability to counter and outpace evolving threats independently or within a network of surface combatants. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)