This little announcement as reported over at gCaptain got my attention yesterday:

The U.S. Coast Guard has dramatically expanded its presence along America’s southern maritime border, deploying the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) as part of an unprecedented response to border security challenges.

The Coast Guard announced Monday it has already tripled its assets along the southern border since January 21 and it is now “leveraging U.S. Navy capabilities with Coast Guard teams aboard to augment our assets there off California and Texas,” the agency stated on X.

“USS Gravely’s deployment will contribute to the U.S. Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DOD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, U.S. Northern Command. “Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security.”…with Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) teams embarking aboard the Navy destroyer.

Gravely is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke, she’s only 15 years old. A young girl by US Navy standards. “Why,” you are hopefully asking, “is such a ship doing border control when we have Carrier Strike Groups running out of VLS cells attacking and defending against the piratical Houthi in the Red Sea?”