2,500 Marines from North Carolina base are deploying to the Middle East, reports say
Thousands of Marines from North Carolina are deploying to the Middle East as tensions continue to rise with Iran, according to reports.
About 2,500 troops from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune are headed into the Mediterranean Sea along with Navy amphibious assault ship the USS Bataan, according to reports in the Marine Corps Times and USNI News, citing defense officials.
The Marine unit canceled a planned training exercise with the Moroccan military and will now join the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet, the reports said.
According to the Marine Corps Times, the MEU is “made up of Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, Combat Logistics Battalion 26 and the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365, all based in North Carolina.”
The Marines will join 3,500 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne, which deployed last week as the United States continues a troop buildup in the region after a drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Iraq.
“USS Bataan and embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are underway conducting routine operations, demonstrating the inherent flexibility of our naval forces,” a spokesman for the U.S. 6th Fleet said, according to USNI News.
“For operational security reasons, we do not discuss future operations. ARGMEUs operate continuously across the globe to provide commanders with a forward-deployed, flexible and responsive sea-based Marine Air-Ground Task Force,” Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Comer said, USNI reported.
President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the general who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, according to the Pentagon. A drone strike killed Soleimani as he left the Baghdad Airport.
Since then, tensions and threats have only mounted between the Trump administration and Iran.
Iran has been moving weapons and military equipment, CNN reported Tuesday. “US officials said the movement may be an Iranian effort to secure its weapons from a potential U.S. strike, or put them in positions to launch their own attacks,” CNN said.
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 11:45 AM.
