US Navy Warship Deploys for Southern Border Security Mission
Is adding a missile equipped vessel overkill?
A US Naval warship has - for the first time - been assigned to the US Northern Command's ongoing mission "to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security" along the U.S. Southern Border. The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely left Virginia on Saturday, March 15, 2025, bound for waters off the US Southern Coast.
Until now, these missions had been carried out by US Coast Guard and US Customs & Border Protection vessels and aircraft. The deployment of a US Naval ship represents an escalation of military assets assigned to the US Southern Border.
“The deployment of Gravely marks a vital enhancement to our nation’s border security framework. In collaboration with our interagency partners, Gravely strengthens our maritime presence and exemplifies the Navy’s commitment to national security and safeguarding our territorial integrity with professionalism and resolve." - Admiral Daryl Caudle, U.S. Naval Forces Northern Command
A Coast Guard Law-Enforcement Detachment is aboard the ship to enforce any violations of US laws (such as drug & human smuggling) the USS Gravely may encounter.
Assigning a warship outfitted with guided missiles to this mission is not without controversy.
"This is the equivalent of having an Abrams Tank patrolling the border instead of a Humvee," one person remarked in the r/navy subreddit.
"A destroyer being used for this type of mission is overkill & is mainly for show," said another Redditor.
What are your thoughts about deploying a guided-missile warship on a border security mission?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
When the cartels, who are well-armed, don’t receive their expected million$ from the drugs they’ve sent to the US through the entry points of the border, all hell might break loose. We need military at the border.
Do we still have a Coast Guard?