As we previously reported, USS Bataan (LHD-5) and its embarked Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), deployed to the Persian Gulf with approximately 2,500 United States Marines, was moved to the Gaza area following the October 7 massacre in Israel: U.S. Military Power Expands in Gaza Area of Operations – An Update:
[V]ery recent reporting suggests the Bataan and its marines are heading towards Gaza:https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1713965370703262033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713965370703262033%7Ctwgr%5Eec08acac78154c01a92d2cbf3471bae2391275c8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flegalinsurrection.com%2F2023%2F10%2Fu-s-military-power-expands-in-gaza-area-of-operations-an-update%2F
This was a big deal, as Admiral James Stavridis, legendary in U.S. Navy circles for his many in-depth thought pieces on naval strategy and tactics over the years, and now retired and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, explained:
The administration will want more than the direct combat power of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group. That may explain why the warships and Marines were ordered to cut short a training exercise that was scheduled to run through Oct. 22 due to what the Pentagon called “emerging events.”USS Bataan, at 40,000 tons and over 800 feet in length, is a smaller version of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. With conventional propulsion, she has a powerful airwing that typically includes six F-35 strike fighters (with vertical takeoff capability), alongside a dozen of the assault support tiltrotor MV-22 Ospreys to get Marines rapidly ashore in a crisis….In addition to the attack aircraft on the ships, the real offensive punch of the force is the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit [MEU] with more than 2,000 Marines. The MEU is configured for special operations, including a significant element of the vaunted Marine special operators, whose training resembles that of the Navy SEALs or the Army Green Berets.Overall, the MEU has over 2,000 combat-trained Marines organized into an infantry battalion, an airwing to transport them, and embedded logistics support – everything from water purification systems to big tactical trucks and fast Humvees.With a couple of thousand Marines nearby at sea, the President’s options will include securing airports for military and chartered commercial evacuation of Americans; guarding concentration points to collect citizens preparing to evacuate; securing coastal bases if air evacuation becomes too dangerous; and providing emergency medical support.
And the key point from Admiral Stavridis:
Above all, the special operations elements of the 26th MEU could be part of finding, fixing, and rescuing American hostages. This would obviously be done in complete coordination with Israeli special forces, and with a recognition that such operations are inherently dangerous and very often end with tragic outcomes for innocent hostages. It would most likely include US tier-one special forces, the elite SEALs and Green Berets operating globally out of Fort Liberty, North Carolina.This all sounds like the culmination of a Tom Clancy novel, and all of this will be controversial in terms of potentially having actual US boots on the ground and fighter jets and helicopters in the skies above the fight in Gaza. But the highest obligation of a President is to protect American lives, and if events spiral into an even higher level of violence in Israel, the presence of US Marines gives the administration more and better options to respond. Send in the Marines.
Of course we now know that those Marines did not go in to extract U.S. hostages, some of whom still remain in Hamas’ hands, even though the Israelis are rescuing their hostages: Israel Rescues Two Hostages In Rafah
But, recent reports suggest those Marines will be on hand for the final stages of the Gaza assault:
From military.com: Marines, Navy’s Bataan Group Officially Get Extended Deployment in Mediterranean Amid Middle East Turmoil:
The Pentagon has officially extended the deployment of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and a Navy amphibious ready group headed by the USS Bataan in the Mediterranean Sea amid growing regional turmoil, according to a defense official.The extension was being mulled by the department following a U.S. military buildup late last year aimed at stopping the Israel-Hamas War from spilling over. A Navy spokesperson said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the ships and Marines to remain in the region.The 26th MEU, a special operations-capable Marine Corps unit, and the Bataan group originally deployed in July to deter Iranian aggression against commercial shipping vessels near the Persian Gulf. Now, after already being extended once before, the units will stay deployed as the Pentagon looks to keep Marines in the region as violence has escalated, with U.S. forces attacked by Iran-backed proxies more than 160 times in the last few months.The defense official told Military.com on Friday that “the Bataan ARG and 26th MEU [have] been extended in the” U.S. European Command area of operations, which includes the Mediterranean. On the far east, the sea also borders the Gaza Strip, Israel, Lebanon and Syria, where violence has spiked since the war began in October.
Unfortunately, there is another reason for the deployment extension, one having nothing to do with Gaza or attacks on U.S. assets:
Military.com previously reported that the Pentagon was considering this extension for the Marines and sailors aboard the Bataan group. Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, who heads the Marine Corps’ modernization efforts, told Military.com late last month that the unit was then “looking at yet another extension” because of the unprepared state of the Navy’s amphibious ship fleet.Heckl said that Marine expeditionary forces have been prevented from deploying on time because the amphibious ships they ride on are not ready to set sail due to a number of factors, including maintenance issues.For example, the USS Boxer, an amphibious warship that will be the heart of the next Marine deployment, has been struggling with maintenance issues for months. The ship spent more than a year at the pier, despite having just completed a two-year overhaul. Then, when it finally did get underway, it belched black smoke outside San Diego harbor.Two weeks ago, Navy officials told Military.com that the ship, which was scheduled to deploy in November, still needs “additional advanced training” before it is fully ready to deploy.[emphasis added]
And, the extension may well have negative effects on downstream retention efforts:
“When you extend an ARG like that, it has a lot of ramifications, both material-wise and manpower,” Heckl said last month after Military.com reported that the extension was being considered. “Material-wise, that ship is now staying underway longer than it had been planned and is probably impacting some maintenance avail[ability] that was scheduled.”And then the manpower — maintaining good faith and trust with our Marines,” he added. “What happens to those Marines that had an end-of-active-service date, and now they’re getting essentially involuntarily extended?”
But, Big Navy continues its rosy outlook:
In response to accusations of not being prepared to deploy on time, the Navy told Military.com that it was continuing “to maximize readiness and [is] able to fight and prevail when and wherever called upon.”
Oh brother. In any case, we will keep you updated as the Gaza military operations enter their final stages.
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