NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk-based USS Bataan (LHD 5) is on its way to the Middle East.
According to the US Naval Institute, the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship is being redirected after the Navy scrapped planned military exercises with Morocco.
USNI reports Marines on board the Bataan will join soldiers from Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne who were sent to Iraq as a security measure following the U.S. operation that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani last week.
The ship has more than 2,000 Camp Lejeune-based Marines. They can provide quick reaction forces for embassy protection, evacuating civilians by air and sea, and can go on the attack with Harrier jets, Super Cobra helicopters, and heavily-armed infantry troops.
The Bataan Amphibious Group also includes the Little Creek-based dock landing ship USS Oak Hill.
USNI News also reports that as of January 6, there were 18 American warships in the Fifth Fleet Area of Operations led by the Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Stike Group.
Six of the nine squadrons aboard the Truman come from Hampton Roads, including Oceana-based strike fighter squadrons VFA-11, VFA-211, and VFA-81.
The Truman group also includes the Norfolk-based guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a war powers resolution on Friday to prevent a war with Iran.
“For years, I’ve been deeply concerned about President Trump stumbling into a war with Iran. We’re now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm’s way. We owe it to our service members to have a debate and vote about whether or not it’s in our national interest to engage in another unnecessary war in the Middle East,” said Kaine.