US Navy highlights 'One Atlantic' concept with destroyer deployment to Northern Command

USS Gravely , pictured here, being replenished during ‘Baltic Operations 2019', was recently deployed to Northern Command. (US Navy)

With the recent deployment of a guided-missile destroyer (DDG) in Northern Command (NORTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), the US Navy (USN) is bolstering its concept of a ‘One Atlantic' mindset when it comes to waters off the American coast, according to Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of US Fleet Forces Command.

USS Gravely (DDG 107) departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in Virginia for a scheduled deployment to NORTHCOM AOR on 15 March, NORTHCOM confirmed the same day.

“USS Gravely's deployment will contribute to the US Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DoD's [Department of Defense's] co-ordinated effort in response to the presidential executive order,” NORTHCOM Commander General Gregory Guillot said in a statement released confirming the deployment.

“In support of US Northern Command's mission to restore territorial integrity at the US southern border, Gravely reinforces the nation's commitment to border security by enhancing maritime efforts and supporting inter-agency collaboration,” NORTHCOM said in its statement.

Territorial integrity

Gravely's deployment is in response to presidential executive orders and a national emergency declaration and clarification of the military's role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States, NORTHCOM said.

USNORTHCOM was named the DoD's operational lead for the employment of US military forces to carry out President Donald Trump's southern border executive orders, with combatant command filling “critical capabilities gaps in support of DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection]”, the NORTHCOM statement noted.