More than 2,600 US sailors and Marines operate in the Middle East aboard USS Boxer

Following its recent deployment from the Indo-Pacific, more than 2,600 US sailors and Marines are now operating in the Middle East aboard USS Boxer (LHD-4), strengthening the US naval presence in a region where the US government retains a substantial military posture as negotiations with Iran continue. The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship entered the operational area alongside elements of its Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

USS Boxer and the 11th MEU in the Middle East

USS Boxer’s presence in the Middle East was confirmed after it crossed the Indian Ocean and continued sailing alongside the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27). Both vessels are operating with the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU). Meanwhile, USS Comstock (LSD-45), a Whidbey Island-class landing ship and another component of Boxer’s Amphibious Ready Group, had been deployed in the region since early May. Collectively, the arrival of these vessels expanded the amphibious capabilities available to US forces.

Boxer’s deployment followed a sequence of movements that had previously placed the ship in the Indo-Pacific. In early June, the US Navy reported that LHD-4 had entered the South China Sea after passing through the Andaman Sea and making a logistical stop in Singapore. At that time, it was sailing with the 11th MEU embarked, an expeditionary force equipped to conduct amphibious operations, non-combatant evacuations, humanitarian assistance, crisis control and rapid-response missions.

Expanded US naval presence amid negotiations with Iran

USS Boxer later changed its operating area and headed to the Middle East, where its arrival coincided with a considerable expansion of the US naval presence. Based on figures reported after it reached the region, the ship’s deployment brought the number of US Navy warships in the Middle East to at least 24, including the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), as well as 15 destroyers. This total did not include tankers, logistics ships or other support vessels, nor two destroyers deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.

Boxer is not the only US Amphibious Ready Group operating nearby. The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, accompanied by the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, was also conducting operations in the Arabian Sea. This concentration of forces forms part of a wider posture which, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM), includes around 50,000 US personnel deployed across the Middle East.

The presence of more than 2,600 US sailors and Marines aboard USS Boxer is especially significant given the continuing negotiations and recent attacks involving Washington and Tehran. The talks seek to end the conflict, make progress on Iran’s nuclear programme and establish conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the principal sea routes for the global oil trade. Recent tensions, including attacks on commercial shipping and US military facilities followed by retaliatory action, have kept concerns high over a possible resumption of hostilities.

USS Boxer’s flexible amphibious capability

Given its characteristics, USS Boxer provides the US posture with a particularly adaptable expeditionary capability. The Wasp-class ship can operate helicopters and short take-off and vertical landing aircraft, while its well deck can deploy landing craft and LCAC hovercraft. Together with the 11th MEU and the more than 2,600 embarked sailors and Marines, its deployment broadens the options available to the United States in the Middle East, both for responding to a potential military escalation and for maintaining presence and deterrence operations in a region defined by enduring tensions with Iran.