U.S. Central Command said the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Middle East early Sunday making it part of the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
The U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying elements will join the U.S.S. Ford in the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran from opening a second front against Israel from Lebanon using the Hezbollah terror group and its rocket arsenal, as Breitbart News reported.
The aircraft carrier strike group had moved through the Strait of Gibraltar earlier this week, putting two American carriers in the Mediterranean Sea, a rare sight in recent years, AP reports.
File/An F/A-18F Super Hornet lands on the U.S. navy’s super carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) (“Ike”) in the Mediterranean Sea on July 7, 2016. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is already in the eastern Mediterranean, part of a buildup of forces as the U.S. supports Israel in its war against Hamas terrorists and their backers.
One week ago CNN reported the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Bataan is also being moved closer to Israel.
The moves come some 14-days after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin placed additional U.S. troops on prepare-to-deploy orders to the Middle East after speaking with President Joe Biden.
“I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare to deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required,” he said in a statement as reported by Breitbart News.