Soldiers and airmen prepare to load elements of a THAAD missile system onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Bliss, Texas, in February 2019. (Cory Payne/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — Almost 1,000 American troops have received orders to deploy to the Middle East to support Israel in its conflict with Hamas and provide stability in the region, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin decided several days ago to put 2,000 troops on pre-deployment orders to prepare for possible missions in the Middle East. On Thursday, the Pentagon said some of those orders have been activated.
“Approximately 900 troops have … deployed or are in the process of deploying,” said Air Force Brig. Gen Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. “These include forces that have been on prepare-to-deploy orders and which are deploying from the continental United States.”
Ryder said the deploying troops are part of existing plans that were previously announced to send a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from Fort Bliss, Texas, and Patriot batteries from Fort Sill, Okla. Patriot and Avenger batteries are also being sent from Fort Liberty, N.C., and Associated Air Defense headquarters elements from Fort Bliss and Fort Cavazos, Texas.
THAAD is an air defense system that can intercept short-, medium- and long-range ballistic missiles with radar and shoot them down. Patriot and Avenger systems work in a similar way.
Ryder declined to say specifically where the deploying U.S. forces are going.
“I can confirm they are not going to Israel,” he said. “They are intended to support regional deterrence efforts and further bolster U.S. force protection capabilities.”
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, talks with reporters during a news briefing at the Pentagon on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Jack Sanders/USAF)
The Pentagon said the number of U.S. service members who have pre-deployment orders might fluctuate depending on what is needed in the region, which has seen a severe increase of violence since Hamas militants on Oct. 7 broke through a border fence between Gaza and Israel and killed hundreds of Israeli civilians. Israel’s military has been carrying out airstrikes on Gaza in retaliation, which have killed scores of Palestinian civilians.
Ryder said the Pentagon is also sending two Iron Dome batteries to Israel. Iron Dome is a sophisticated air-defense system that tracks incoming enemy rockets and knocks them out of the sky. Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has intercepted dozens of rockets using Iron Dome batteries.
The two batteries had been assigned to the Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., but will now be transferred to Israel. The Pentagon has said previously that it’s been sending Iron Dome interceptors to Israel.
U.S. military bases throughout the Middle East continue to see drone and missile attacks from militant groups. Since Oct. 17, there have been 16 missile or drone attacks on American bases — 12 in Iraq and 4 in Syria, where U.S. and coalition forces are fighting terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, Ryder said. The number of attacks was 13 on Tuesday.
One of the latest attacks occurred Thursday at an air base in Erbil in northern Iraq. Ryder said the attack caused no injuries and no significant property damage.
The Pentagon has not identified the groups behind the attacks but has said the militants are supported by Iran and are effectively Iranian proxy groups. The attacks caused almost two dozen injuries in the two countries, Ryder said, including 15 who received some form of traumatic brain injury.
“In all cases, members returned to duty,” he said.
