The USS Mount Whitney steams alongside the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Mediterranean Sea, Oct. 3, 2023. Mount Whitney departed its port in Gaeta, Italy, Oct. 18, to join other U.S. ships, including the Ford, in the eastern Mediterranean, the Navy said in a statement. (Tajh Payne/U.S. Navy)
STUTTGART, Germany — A Navy command and control ship departed its southern Italy base to support U.S. military operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where thousands of Marines also are sailing, as U.S. military operations build up in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
USS Mount Whitney departed Gaeta, Italy, on Wednesday, the Naples-based 6th Fleet said in a statement. The ship is part of a rapidly expanding fleet in the region, where the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group is already positioned and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier group is headed on a mission to deter the possibility of a wider conflict.
The Mount Whitney provides added flexibility to the military because it ensures command and control missions can be carried out in international waters, not just ashore.
The ship executed that role in 2011 as the U.S. command hub during the bombardment of Libya, which led to the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
Still, the Pentagon has emphasized that the role of the growing military presence in the eastern Mediterranean is about preventing escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas rather than participating in it.
The range of military assets “shows our seriousness and commitment to deterrence,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which consists of about 2,000 Marines and sailors, also has left the Gulf of Oman, where it had been operating. That force includes a mix of infantry, aviation and logistics components.
“Positioned at sea, the 26th MEU is equipped to execute amphibious missions, respond to crisis and engage in limited contingency operations across a spectrum of military scenarios,” Singh said.
The Marines plan to link up with the Navy’s two assigned carrier strike groups.
The Air Force also has deployed additional squadrons of F-15, F-16 and A-10 fighter aircraft to the Middle East.
They include about 400 airmen from the RAF Lakenheath, England-based 48th Fighter Wing and 494th Fighter Squadron, which had plans to deploy prior to the Israel-Hamas war.
More forces could soon be headed to the region. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put about 2,000 personnel and a range of units on heightened readiness should events require a rapid deployment to the Middle East.
