The USS Gravely returned to Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday after taking part in operations off Venezuela, and it arrived as the debate over the mission there continues to grow.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is one of the first Norfolk-based ships sent to the Caribbean to return. The U.S. has sent more than a dozen warships and thousands of service members to the Caribbean – the largest U.S. force there in decades — in an effort to gain leverage over Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, as well as prevent drugs from being trafficked from the region into the United States, according to the New York Times.

The Gravely was deployed to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea from March to June to support U.S. Northern Command, and again from August to December to support USSOUTHCOM. The Gravely worked along side two other Norfolk-based ships, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group, during its second deployment.

The U.S. has launched 20 strikes on small speedboats, killing at least 80 people in international waters. President Donald Trump also announced Wednesday the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, something Venezuela’s government claimed was the true reason behind the U.S.’ attacks.

The attacks have drawn broad criticism of the Trump administration and the legality of the strikes, with some scholars contending the strikes amount to war crimes. International law prohibits the deliberate killing of civilians, even if they are suspected of committing a crime.

One strike that’s gotten particular notice occurred on Sept. 2, where a missile strike was ordered against a boat carrying 11 alleged drug traffickers off the Trinidad coast. After finding two survivors in the wreckage, another strike was ordered, which blew apart both survivors.

Six Democratic members of Congress, all with military backgrounds, appeared in a video reminding service members illegal orders can be refused. Those lawmakers are now being investigated by the FBI, and Trump sharply criticized the lawmakers and their message, according to NPR.

The Gravely’s commanding officer, Commander Greg Piorun Jr., declined to comment Saturday on whether the Gravely was involved in any of the 20 strikes against Venezuelan speedboats , and deferred further questions to Southern Command. He said he was aware of the criticisms, but it’s his job to follow orders.

Commander Greg Piorun, commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer Gravely talks to the media on the pier at Naval Station Norfolk Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 after the ship arrived back in Norfolk from a deployment off the coast of Venezuela. (Bill Tiernan/For The Virginian-Pilot)

“I follow the news. I also follow the orders of the Secretary of War and President of the United States, and so that’s what we carry out,” Piorun said. “Our mission, at this stage of the game, how we operate is mission execution.”

Piorun added it’s the job of politicians rather than his to determine the legality and other details surrounding mission execution.

“The politics, the politicians can figure out,” Piorun said.

The Trump administration has defended the legality of the strikes by claiming the U.S. is at war with drug cartels, and members of the speedboat crews were “combatants.”

The Gravely was responsible for capturing more than 850 pounds of narcotics, valued at $13.6 million, in the Caribbean Sea during its first deployment in May.

Dan Casey of Rapid City, S.D. drapes a flag around his son’s shoulders as he gives him a hug on the pier of Naval Station Norfolk Saturday, Dec.13, 2025. Carson Casey,a third-class petty officer aboard the USS Gravely and the rest of the crew returned to Norfolk after a deployment off the coast of Venezuela. (Bill Tiernan/For The Virginian-Pilot)

Piorun applauded his more than 300-sailor crew for their work and readiness to complete whatever mission comes next for the Gravely.

“The way we support our commander is by being an option, no matter what,” Piorun said. “As long as the Gravely is an option for whatever the commander needs, then we’re doing our job as sailors.”

For now, he said the crew will get some much-needed rest while the ship enters a maintenance phase, and then “we’ll start it all over again” once maintenance is finished.

Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/12/13/uss-gravely-returns-norfolk/