Overview
- About 2,500 Marines from the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit have been ordered to the Middle East as a rapid-response force.
- The unit is embarking on the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship that can operate as a Lightning Carrier for F-35B fighters.
- U.S. officials told The New York Times the force could be tasked with regaining control of the Strait of Hormuz and conducting raids on nearby islands to disrupt fast boats and mines.
- Commercial traffic through the strait has collapsed by roughly 97 percent, according to United Nations data, with limited passage for ships from countries closer to Iran.
- The redeployment bolsters U.S. capability in the Gulf yet reduces immediate quick-response capacity in the Pacific, prompting regional security concerns.