New military reinforcements join the 2,200 soldiers who have already been on a US Navy warship heading to the Middle East for a week
The United States is preparing to send thousands of additional military personnel to the Middle East, including marines and sailors, three US officials told Reuters.
The reinforcement includes the deployment of the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, accompanied by a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and other naval support assets. The move comes at a time when the administration of US President Donald Trump is considering increasing military presence in the region, according to Reuters.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not detail the specific mission of these reinforcements. Even so, one of those responsible indicated that the forces should leave the west coast of the United States about three weeks ahead of schedule, which suggests an acceleration of military plans.
Asked on Thursday about a possible deployment of troops, Donald Trump stated, in statements to journalists, that he is not positioning forces “anywhere”. However, he added that, if he does so, he will not announce it in advance.
These soldiers joined the , about a week ago, on the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli.
Based in Sasebo, Japan, the USS Tripoli, measuring nearly 260 meters long and displacing 45,000 tons, is essentially a small aircraft carrier and carries F-35 stealth fighters and MV-22 Osprey transport planes, as well as landing craft to take troops ashore. It is the lead ship of an amphibious standby group, which typically includes the amphibious transport ships USS New Orleans and USS San Diego.
US Navy ships generally sail with their AIS transponders turned off. Revealing your positions when transiting areas with heavy maritime traffic, such as the waters around Singapore, allows for safer operations.
