The Pentagon is sending amphibious warship USS Arlington (LPD-24) and elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to join the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group as a hedge against Iran, according to a Friday Pentagon statement.
“USS Arlington is a San Antonio-class ship that transports U.S. Marines, amphibious vehicles, conventional landing craft and rotary aircraft with the capability to support amphibious assault, special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions,” read the statement.
“Arlington also provides a high-quality command and control capability and improved interoperability with our allies and partners in the region.”
“Arlington also provides a high-quality command and control capability and improved interoperability with our allies and partners in the region.”
The Lincoln CSG was ordered to depart the Mediterranean Sea for U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) area of operation, “in response to indications of heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against U.S. forces and our interests,” according to the statement
CENTCOM Commander Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie asked for the Lincoln CSG and a detachment of B-52 Stratofortress bombers to be sent to the region, following assessments made a week ago by the U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton about a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.”
On Thursday, the Lincoln CSG left the Mediterranean and transited the Suez Canal, officially entering U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Central Command.
As of Monday, Arlington was in 5th Fleet operating as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), according to the USNI News Fleet Tracker.
Shanahan also ordered a U.S. Army Patriot missile battery to U.S. Central Command as part of the command’s original request for forces from earlier this week.
“A Patriot battery is a long-range, all-weather air defense system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft,” read the statement.
Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is now in the Red Sea earlier than planned at the direction of the White House, USNI News has learned.
The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group left the Mediterranean and transited the Suez Canal on Thursday, officially entering U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Central Command.
“ABECSG has been conducting operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations for several weeks, but expedited their transit to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to protect U.S. forces and interests in the region,” the Navy said in a statement published following an earlier version of this post.
“ABECSG will be positioned by CENTCOM where it will best be able to protect U.S. forces and interests in the region and to deter any aggression.”
“ABECSG will be positioned by CENTCOM where it will best be able to protect U.S. forces and interests in the region and to deter any aggression.”
The move follows a statement earlier this week from the National Security Council that, due to provocative behavior from Iran and new intelligence estimates, the U.S. was repositioning the strike group from the Mediterranean to the Gulf. The Pentagon also deployed a U.S. Air Force bomber detachment that included B-52 Stratofortress bombers to the region.
On Sunday, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton called the move a reaction to a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.”
The assessments prompted CENTCOM Commander Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie to ask for the strike group and the bombers.
The Wall Street Journal reported intelligence reports indicated Iran was planning attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria as well as attack shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb strait from Yemen.
“The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces,” the Sunday statement from the White House reads.
The retasking order from the White House accelerated Lincoln’s already planned presence in the Middle East and canceled a previously scheduled port visit to Split, Croatia, this week
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