Over the weekend, Northern Command deployed a guided missile destroyer to help intercept ships carrying illegal drugs in the Gulf of Mexico.

The need for more ships to help with illegal drug trafficking enforcement was highlighted during a February hearing with the commanders of both Northern and Southern Command. Northern Command is based in Colorado Springs.

Adm. Alvin Holsey, the leader of Southern Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, the U.S. can only stop 10% to 20% of all the drug shipments coming by sea because of a lack of resources.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said during the hearing the lack of ships working on drug interception is a problem that goes back three or four administrations and contributes to fentanyl overdose deaths. The percentage of missed shipments is based on known shipments, he said.

“Basically, it’s a dereliction of duty,” King said.

The USS Gravely departed from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in Virginia with a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment. Such teams work on counter-piracy, military combat operations, alien migration interdiction, military force protection, counterterrorism, homeland security, and humanitarian response, a Northern Command news release said.

“This is an important step in the whole-of-government efforts to seal the southern border and maintain U.S. sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Northern Command’s leader, Gen. Gregory Guillot, said in the statement.

Fort Carson soldiers with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team are also planned to deploy to the border to help deter illegal immigration.