Sam LaGrone – June 3, 2025 11:13 PM
A West Coast destroyer departed on Tuesday as the latest ship to deploy in support of operations in U.S. Northern Command, reads a statement from U.S. Fleet Forces.
USS Sampson (DDG-102) left from San Diego to relieve the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston (LCS-18), “continuing the Navy’s role in maritime operations that support national security priorities,” reads the statement. “The deployment is part of the Department of Defense’s support to national objectives along the U.S. southern border, following Presidential directives and ongoing interagency efforts to improve border security and homeland defense.”
Sampson, like Charleston, has a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment during its deployment. Embarked LEDETs have been a centerpiece of Navy support for the overall anti-trafficking effort in U.S. Southern Command for decades as part of Campaign Martillo.
“As a surface combatant assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9, Sampson brings robust multi-mission capabilities to the task of defending U.S. sovereignty and supporting homeland defense operations in coordination with USNORTHCOM,” reads a statement.
Destroyers from both coasts have been dispatched to the border to support anti-trafficking and immigration operations.
Last week in the Caribbean Sea, USS Gravely (DDG-107) and LEDET 401 seized $13.5 million in cocaine, USNI News reported.
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