Over 12,000 personnel from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have either reached or are en route to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Ten warships are carrying the troops.
According to Nikkei Asia, the move is to ensure that the war between Israel and Hamas does not expand into a larger conflict.
The warships are not to engage in the conflict, but to provide military strength in the area.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the United States must prepare for “every possible contingency.”
“We can’t rule out that Iran would choose to get directly engaged some way. We have to prepare for every possible contingency,” he said. “That is part of what has motivated the president’s movement of these assets, to send that clear message of deterrence to make clear that this war should not escalate.”
The warships are divided into two strike groups, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carries 5,000 service members. Three accompanying ships include the USS Philippine Sea, the USS Gravely, and the USS Mason.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carries 4,530 service members. Five other ships carry over 1,600 service members, including the USS Normandy, the USS Thomas Hudner, the USS Ramage, the USS Carney, and the USS Roosevelt.
