Thousands More US Troops Deploying to Middle East in Response to Iranian Threats

U.S. Army Paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, deploy from Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina, Jan. 1, 2020. (U.S. Army/Capt. Robyn J. Haake)

3 Jan 2020
Military.com | By Richard Sisk

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/01/03/thousands-more-us-troops-deploying-middle-east-response-iranian-threats.html

Thousands more U.S. troops will deploy to the Mideast in response to Iranian threats to avenge the killing of Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad's International Airport on the order of President Donald Trump, the Pentagon said Friday.

The entire 1st Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, which constitutes the Immediate Response Force at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, "was alerted to prepare for deployment and is now being deployed," a Pentagon spokesperson said.

"The brigade will deploy to Kuwait as an appropriate and precautionary action in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Elements of the 1st Brigade could also be sent to bolster security at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad following their arrival in Kuwait, according to sources.

At an off-camera Pentagon briefing Thursday, both Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said that additional deployments were under consideration.

Esper said that about 100 Marines in Kuwait were initially sent to back up embassy security but added: "We are prepared to reinforce other positions throughout the region as required over the coming days."

Milley said, "There's a variety of forces that are alerted and prepared, if necessary" to deploy, "depending on the situation as we move forward."

...snip...

The U.S. currently has a total of about 60,000 troops in the Mideast, including 5,000 in Iraq, according to Esper. The total includes about 14,000 sent to the region since last May to shore up defenses against Iran.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Additional information can be found at the link.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/01/03/thousands-more-us-troops-deploying-middle-east-response-iranian-threats.html