Heather Mongilio – June 6, 2025 4:29 PM
USS Cole (DDG-67) left Mayport, Fla., on Thursday as the latest Navy ship to participate in the Trump administration’s border mission.
Cole will replace USS Gravely (DDG-107), which sailed to the southern border shortly after returning home from its deployment in the Red Sea. Cole is the second ship this week to head to the southern border to replace ships finishing their U.S. Northern Command mission.
Gravely will return home to Norfolk, Va., – also Cole’s homeport – on Monday, according to a Navy news release.
While Cole will support NORTHCOM’s mission, it will deploy under U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet. It will have an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), as did Gravely.
The embarked LEDET can perform vessel boardings and searches and seizures in both U.S. and international waters, according to the Navy release.
“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,” reads the release.
Gravely deployed March 15, USNI News previously reported. It was one of the first destroyers sent to the waters around the Gulf coast.
P-8A Poseidons maritime surveillance planes from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., supported Gravely and its LEDET. The “Swamp Foxes” of Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 74 also embarked on Gravely.
At the end of May, Gravely and its LEDET seized approximately 860 pounds of illegal drugs from a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, USNI News previously reported.
USS Sampson (DDG-102) deployed Tuesday from San Diego to support NORTHCOM’s mission, USNI News previously reported. It’s relieving USS Charleston (LCS-18) and also has an embarked LEDET.
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