{"id":80189,"date":"2024-09-22T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/09\/22\/as-conflict-looms-where-are-us-forces-in-the-middle-east\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:02:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:02:41","slug":"as-conflict-looms-where-are-us-forces-in-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2024\/09\/22\/as-conflict-looms-where-are-us-forces-in-the-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s where US forces are in the Middle East as war looms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. has kept an increased military presence<\/a> in the Middle East throughout much of the past year, with about 40,000 forces, at least a dozen warships and four Air Force fighter jet squadrons spread across the region both to protect allies and to serve as a deterrent against attacks, several U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As attacks between Israel and Hezbollah<\/a> sharply spiked this week, worries are growing that the conflict could escalate into an all-out war, even as Tel Aviv keeps up its nearly yearlong fight against Hamas militants<\/a> in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah says Israel crossed a \u201cred line\u201d with explosive attacks on its communications devices<\/a> and vowed to keep up the missile strikes it\u2019s launched since fellow Iranian-backed militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant \u2014 who has spoken repeatedly this week to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin \u2014 has declared the start of a \u201cnew phase\u201d of the war, shifting its focus to the northern front against Hezbollah<\/a> in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the U.S. hasn’t signaled a troop increase or change as a result of the latest attacks, and there is already a beefed-up force in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re confident in the ability that we have there right now to protect our forces and should we need to come to the defense of Israel as well,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A military official said the additional resources have helped as the U.S. patrols various conflict areas, including operations targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria<\/a>, defending Israel and countering threats from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen<\/a>, who have targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea and launched ballistic missiles at Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe U.S. troop movements and locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at the U.S. military presence in the Middle East:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troops<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Normally, about 34,000 U.S. forces are deployed to U.S. Central Command, which covers the entire Middle East. That troop level grew in the early months of the Israel-Hamas war to about 40,000 as additional ships and aircraft were sent in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several weeks ago, the total spiked to nearly 50,000 when Austin ordered two aircraft carriers<\/a> and their accompanying warships to stay in the region as tensions roiled between Israel and Lebanon. One carrier strike group has since left and moved into the Asia-Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Service members work in the combat information center of the Laboon during a deployment in the Red Sea on June 12, 2024. (Bernat Armangue\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The beefed-up presence is designed both to help defend Israel and protect U.S. and allied personnel and assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy warships are scattered across the region, from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Oman, and both Air Force and Navy fighter jets are strategically based at several locations to be better prepared to respond to any attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. is back to one aircraft carrier in the region. Austin has extended the deployment of carriers several times in the past year so that on a few occasions, there has been the rare presence of two at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American military commanders have long argued that the presence of a formidable aircraft carrier \u2014 with its array of fighter jets and surveillance aircraft and sophisticated missiles \u2014 is a strong deterrent against Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\t