The New Jersey Air National Guard’s 119th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron arrives within U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, bolstering U.S. posture to defend U.S. forces and deter further aggression in the region, in October 2023. (Megan Floyd/U.S. Air National Guard)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. will send a few thousand additional troops to the Middle East to boost security for American forces and help defend Israel if needed, the Pentagon said Monday.
The additional forces include squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16, A-10 and F-22 fighter jets and the personnel needed to support them, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.
The jets are not there to assist in an evacuation but “ensuring the protection of U.S. forces operating in the region,” she added.
The deployment follows recent strikes by Israeli forces against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the assassination of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, a significant escalation in the fighting in the Middle East, which includes the war in Gaza with Hamas and launches against and by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday directed the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to remain in the area controlled by U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East. The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group also will continue to operate in the Eastern Mediterranean. Austin also increased the readiness of additional U.S. forces to deploy and maintain a “robust and integrated air-defense capabilities,” according to a Pentagon statement announcing his orders.
The Wasp group deployed to the region June 1 with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid-response force from Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Navy amphibious group includes the amphibious assault ship, dock landing ship USS Oak Hill and amphibious transport dock ship USS New York.
“Secretary Austin stressed that the United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said in the Sunday statement.
The announcement came two days after President Joe Biden directed the Pentagon to adjust U.S. force posture in the Middle East amid intensifying concern that Israel’s killing of the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah could prompt Tehran to retaliate.
The U.S. has expanded its forces in the region in the last several months to help defend Israel, as well as protect American and allied personnel and assets. The Defense Department announced last week that it was sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment forces, Ryder said.
