The Pentagon will send a carrier strike group and missile defense battery to the Middle East and put more troops on “prepare to deploy” orders, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said late Saturday.
The Pentagon will send a carrier strike group and missile defense battery to the Middle East and put more troops on “prepare to deploy” orders, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said late Saturday, citing recent escalations by Iran and its proxy groups that are fueling fears of a wider war in the region.
Mr. Austin said the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will head to the Persian Gulf. Just a few days ago, the Pentagon said the strike group would sail to the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel in a show of solidarity with Jerusalem as it wages war against the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Eisenhower will be the second U.S. carrier strike group in the Middle East. The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is already in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The addition of the Eisenhower, Mr. Austin said, will bolster American military capabilities in the theater.
