The U.S. military is surging more ground, air and sea forces to the Middle East including nearly 5,000 Marines as the war with Iran approaches its fourth week.
This week the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group left port in San Diego on Wednesday, ahead of schedule. The ready group includes the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship the USS Boxer as well as the dock landing ship the USS Comstock and amphibious transport dock ship the USS Portland; the latter two left port on Thursday. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group is carrying the roughly 2,500 Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. They are the second amphibious ready group and Marine Expeditionary Unit to be ordered to the Middle East this month.
The deployment to the Middle East was reported by multiple outlets on Friday, citing several U.S. officials who confirmed the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the Marines were heading to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The Pentagon declined to confirm the reports to Task & Purpose, saying it had nothing to announce regarding pending or future deployments.
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The Tripoli ARG is currently en route, having recently entered the Indian Ocean after leaving Japan. It is carrying roughly 2,200 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Both the ready group and the Marines are based out of Japan. The Tripoli is carrying its own air wing, including F-35B jets with the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121.
The two ready groups would join the already large build up of American forces in the region. Alongside more than 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East, the United States sent dozens of aircraft including fighter jets and bombers to the region, as well as two carrier strike groups prior to the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on Feb. 28. The USS Gerald R. Ford had to break off from the war and travel to port, following a fire on the ship that damaged the carrier.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of deploying ground troops into Iranian territory, although has not ordered such an invasion. Fighting has largely been driven by air campaigns, with naval and Army and Marine ground forces also firing cruise missiles and artillery that have targeted Iranian infrastructure and ships.
The deployment comes as the war reaches the three-week mark and does not appear to be stopping. According to an update from CENTCOM on Friday, 232 American troops have been wounded in the fighting, 10 seriously. 13 service members have died since the start of the war. On Friday, it was reported that Iran fired two intermediate range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint British-American base in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Neither missile reached its target. The base is regularly used as a staging ground for some of the Air Force’s most powerful planes, such as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, which is being used as part of Operation Epic Fury.
