Current:Home > MarketsNow eyeing a longer haul, the US reshuffles its warships in the Mediterranean -Lighthouse Finance Hub
Now eyeing a longer haul, the US reshuffles its warships in the Mediterranean
View
Date:2025-04-26 00:12:46
ON BOARD THE USS BATAAN (AP) — When attacks with missiles and drones surged in the Red Sea late last year, crewmembers of the USS Bataan worked round the clock to make sure they were shot down before reaching passing merchant vessels.
Weeks later, they are still perfecting that operation in training and simulations, along with a dozen other scenarios, despite moving north to the Mediterranean where commercial marine traffic is at little risk.
The U.S. Navy is reshuffling its warship deployment in the Middle East to maintain dominance in the region – now eyeing the longer haul as concerns mount that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza could set off a regional conflict.
An amphibious warship, the Bataan is a multi-deck assault vessel jammed full of armored vehicles and military hardware with a lower bay that can take on water to release landing craft directly into the sea.
The ship is now leading the United States’ task force in the eastern Mediterranean, following the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, which was sent home at the New Year.
The Bataan and two support ships, the USS Mesa Verde and USS Carter Hall, have a combined force of nearly 2,500 Marines and sailors.
Marine Lt. Col. Jeremy Hawkins, a senior planner on the task force, says the makeup of the multi-role naval force is ideal for the complex nature of the conflict and for related regional sources of tension.
“We’re able to operate really autonomously in international waters and airspace. And so it gives us a lot of freedom of operations,” he said. “We’re floating on a piece of America, wherever we’re at.”
As he spoke, a “jump jet” AV-8B Harrier roared off the deck overhead, launching a night flight designed to maintain readiness for pilots and support staff.
Now in its 15th week, the war in Gaza continues to pile tension onto multiple flashpoints in the wider region, many involving militant groups supported by Iran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi movement in Yemen.
“The deployment of the USS Bataan to the eastern Med is meant to do two things,” said Gregory Aftandilian, a senior lecturer at the School of International Service, at the American University in Washington DC.
“It’s to deter Hezbollah from increasing its missile attacks against Israel, which has the potential to lead to a wider war, and to bolster the US naval presence in the Red Sea to hopefully deter the Houthis from launching more attacks on shipping in that body of water.”
The United States assembled a powerful concentration of naval forces in October, sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East after Hamas attacks in Israel triggered the ongoing offensive in Gaza.
The Bataan was sailing toward the eastern Mediterranean Friday after taking part in live-fire exercises with NATO-member Greece on the country’s mainland.
At sea for six months, crew members have had their deployment extended because of the crisis, the U.S. military relying on the fast deployment skills of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in North Carolina, combined with the Navy.
That means snipers and demolition experts spend their days in close quarters with ICU doctors and intelligence officers.
They all live connected by a maze of windowless passageways, many using remote corners to carve out a workout space or using the incline of deck ramps to exercise.
Fourteen floors of living quarters and administrative areas are wrapped around a helicopter hanger and hospital positioned in the center of the 257-meter (843-foot) ship.
Attack helicopter pilot Marine Capt. Sam Peters says he hopes to return home soon to his home in Valdosta in the southern U.S. state of Georgia but realizes his stay on the ship could again be extended.
“To be completely honest, we’re constantly training and constantly ready to respond to crises, I don’t think our mission has really changed,” he said. “I would say, the difference (after coming to Greece) is that the food is a little bit better.”
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Taylor Swift Cancels Austria Concerts After Confirmation of Planned Terrorist Attack
- Poccoin: The Application of Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management
- NATO member Romania finds more suspected drone fragments near its border with Ukraine
- Lawyers for jailed reporter Evan Gershkovich ask UN to urgently declare he was arbitrarily detained
- Residents in Alaska capital clean up swamped homes after an ice dam burst and unleashed a flood
- San Francisco considers lifting the Ferry Building by 7 feet to save it from the sea
- Repair Your Torn-Up Heart With These 25 Secrets About 'N Sync
- Were Megan Thee Stallion and NSYNC fighting at the VMAs? Here's what we know
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Poccoin: El Salvador Educates Students on Bitcoin
Ranking
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Aerosmith postpones farewell tour dates over Steven Tyler vocal cord injury
- What to know about renters insurance and what it does and doesn’t cover
- How Kim’s meeting with Putin at Russian spaceport may hint at his space and weapons ambitions
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Russian spaceport visited by Kim has troubled history blighted by corruption and construction delays
- Poccoin: NFT, The Innovation and Breakthrough in Digital Art
- What is USB-C, the charging socket that replaced Apple’s Lightning cable?
Recommendation
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
MTV VMAs: Ashanti Proves What’s Luv With Special Nod to Nelly After Reigniting Romance
FDA warns CVS, Walgreens and others about these unapproved eye products
The new COVID boosters are coming: Here's what you need to know
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
Coal mine collapses in northern Turkey, killing 1 miner and injuring 3 others
Biden's SAVE plan for student loan repayment may seem confusing. Here's how to use it.
TikTok officially debuts shopping platform, TikTok Shop, to U.S. consumers