The force includes the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, which itself includes more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of aicraft. The strike force also includes guided-missile destroyers and various other vessels. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the force will "bolster US capacity to detect, monitor and disrupt illicit actors and activities that disrupt the safety and prosperity" of the US and will help "disrupt narcotics trafficking" and criminal groups in the region.