OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:35 AM – Tuesday, March 18, 2025
The Pentagon has declared the deployment of a Navy warship to enhance security measures along the U.S. Southern border.
Navy warship USS Gravely was deployed to operate in U.S. and international waters on Saturday, assisting “with border security operations.”
“USS Gravely departed from Naval Weapons Station York, [Virginia], for a scheduled deployment to the Gulf of America,” stated Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
“It’s not only vital for the United States to have control of our border via land. It’s equally important to control our territorial waters, and this deployment directly supports U.S. Northern Command’s mission to protect our sovereignty,” he added.
The Department of Defense’s press release on the matter revealed that the warship will work “very closely” with the U.S. Coast Guard in preventing drug and human smuggling networks from entering the U.S.
“[USS Gravely] will go down [to] the Gulf of America and surrounding areas and be involved in the interdiction mission for many of the drugs … that are coming in,” stated Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich.
The USS Gravely will also host a specialized Coast Guard team known as Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET).
“Founded in 1982, Coast Guard LEDETs carry out a variety of maritime interdiction missions, including counter-piracy [efforts], military combat operations, homeland security and humanitarian response,” the release continued.
The USS Gravely returned to the U.S. in July after a nine-month deployment, tasked with defending cargo ships in the Red Sea from Islamist Houthi attacks.
The Gravely, armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and surpassing the size of any Coast Guard vessel, signals a heightened defensive stance against drug and human traffickers.
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