With the Riverine Assault Boat bringing up the rear, aft gunner and engineer Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Conklin, Detachment 1, Riverine Squadron 3, watches the shoreline as the sun sets over a patrol hours away from completion near Basrah, Iraq, Dec. 14. Though the security of the waterways in the south will eventually fall completely to Iraqi forces, the presence of the Riverines is an essential part of the current peacefulness of the area.