Among the crew onboard these ships have been NCIS Special Agents who provide law enforcement and counterintelligence capabilities related to counternarcotics and combating transnational organized crime.
These Special Agents collaborate with law enforcement and intelligence community partners to synthesize data that enhances Navy leadership’s understanding of the operational environment and increases the probability of successful counternarcotics interdictions.
Such counternarcotics interdictions have included, among others, the seizure of over 6,000 pounds of cocaine by the USS Gravely in May. A subsequent seizure netted over 11,000 pounds of cocaine and 7,200 pounds of marijuana. The USS Cole, partnering with the Royal Canadian Navy, was involved in the seizure of over 540 pounds of cocaine in June.
The ships operate with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LDET) that, combined with NCIS Special Agents enhance maritime security and support interagency collaboration in the region through presence operations.
These deployments are unique in scope and duration compared to the traditional Special Agent Afloat deployments that NCIS has been conducting aboard U.S. Navy ships since the early 1970s. The Special Agent Afloat program deploys agents for year-long deployments aboard aircraft carriers, hospital ships, and amphibious assault ships. NCIS law enforcement and counterintelligence support to these ships enables the Navy to operate with optimal readiness and lethality to protect the United States and advance its interests globally.