A Navy destroyer that battled the Yemen-based Houthis in the Red Sea has begun a new deployment.
The USS Cole left Mayport, Florida, on Thursday to begin patrols along America’s Gulf Coast and in the Gulf of America, according to USNI News.
The Cole was deployed in the Middle East for more than 200 days, during which time it repelled multiple attacks from the Houthis while protecting Red Sea shipping.
The Cole will replace the USS Gravely, which had been patrolling the region since March as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to protect America’s borders.
On May 25, while patrolling the Caribbean Sea, the Gravely seized an estimated 860 pounds of illegal drugs from one ship, according to a news release from U.S. Northern Command.
The seizure included 19 bales of cocaine, weighing about 860 pounds with an estimated value of $13,650,000.
The Cole has a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment aboard.
The Coast Guard detachment “can perform vessel boardings and searches and seizures in both U.S. and international waters,” according to USNI News.
“With LEDET’s tactical expertise guiding interdiction efforts, the Cole will harness its advanced surveillance systems and mobility to locate and intercept suspect vessels, effectively extending Coast Guard authority through naval power to enhance maritime security operations. This collaboration ensures a robust, legally empowered response to maritime threats, strengthening U.S. border protection efforts,” per a Navy release.
Should more Navy ships become involved at the border?
“This operation supports the administration’s focus on integrated homeland defense and maritime border security,” Capt. Raymond Jackson, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, said.
“By uniting Coast Guard law enforcement expertise with Navy reach and surveillance, we’re enhancing deterrence, increasing domain awareness and reinforcing our commitment to protecting the homeland,” he added.
The Gravely will return to its home port of Norfolk, Virginia.
“USS Gravely remains at the forefront of maritime operations, ready to take on any challenge,” Cmdr. Gregory Piorun, the commanding officer of the Gravely, said.
“We will continue to stand strong, protect vital waters, and ensure that justice prevails. True to our motto, we remain always, ‘First to Conquer,’” he said.
The Navy’s patrols along the Gulf Coast are matched along the West Coast.
On Tuesday, the USS Sampson, a destroyer, left to patrol along the West Coast in an area formerly patrolled by the littoral combat ship USS Charleston, according to a Navy statement.
The Sampson also has a Coast Guard LEDET detachment aboard.
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