By Tiffany Williams –
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Saturday announced he has directed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to begin moving to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Austin said Saturday speaking about why he was deploying the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group that it is “Part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel.”
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group includes the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely (DDG 107) and USS Mason (DDG 87), and Carrier Air Wing 3, with nine aircraft squadrons, and embarked headquarters staffs.
The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group Is already in the Eastern Mediterranean, it arrived last week and includes the USS Normandy, USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt.
The Eisenhower CSG will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and the U.S. Air Force has also announced deployment to the region of squadrons of F-15, F-16 and A-10 fighter aircraft.
Austin said Saturday, “The increases to U.S. force posture signal the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war.”