The Pentagon is deploying a U.S. Navy destroyer to the Gulf of America as part of its mission to secure the southern border, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said Monday.
The USS Gravely departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for a scheduled deployment to the Gulf of America, Parnell said during a first Pentagon briefing.
“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 Gravely is deploying under Northcom Commander Air Force General Guillot’s authorities for maritime homeland defense missions, Lt. Gen. Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, who briefed alongside Parnell, said.
Grynkewich, known as “Grinch,” added that she will deploy to the Gulf of America and surrounding areas and be involved in the interdiction mission for any drugs and illicit goods heading into the U.S.
“She will be partnered very closely with the United States Coast Guard,” he said. “We won’t share, of course, her actual scheme of maneuver here, but know that that’s a mission that she’s going down there for, and we look forward to seeing what she can do.”
Parnell emphasized the importance of the mission to secure the southern border.
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have been very, very clear that border security is national security. We spent decades defending foreign nations’ borders while our own U.S. borders has been invaded by criminal illegal aliens, human smugglers, drug traffickers and transnational gangs,” he said.
“The Department of Defense is proud to defend our homeland and the territorial sovereignty of the United States. Although we’ve seen a 93 percent decrease in illegal border crossings, we will not stop until we have 100 percent operational control of our southern border,” he added.
Parnell said there are close to 10,000 troops deployed to the border.
“We’re surging a Stryker Brigade Combat Team down there to reinforce the land border as well. But there’s a sea component to this as well, and that’s part of the mission of the USS Gravely, is to secure those the water routes in defense of our southern border,” he said.
Parnell also noted the making history by using the term “Gulf of America” for the first time at a Pentagon briefing.
“It’s the first time we’ve recognized the Gulf of America in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room, which is kind of cool,” he said.
President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America within his first week of his second administration.
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