U.S. Sends 9,000 Troops and Additional Warships to Middle East
Flight operations aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 29, 2026. Photo by Seaman Apprentice Tyler Harstad/U.S. Navy. This is a file photo of the ship before its reported Middle East deployment. DVIDS (public domain) . The United States is sending roughly 9,000 sailors and Marines aboard additional warships to the Middle East, as President Donald Trump weighs whether to resume strikes against Iran. The deployment includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, according to the Associated Press. A U.S. official told AP that the ships carry more than 7,000 sailors and about 2,000 Marines, with additional vessels accompanying the carrier and amphibious groups. AP identified the USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington as carriers already in the region. The Wall Street Journal separately put the incoming personnel at 9,000 to 10,000. Arrival schedules and the possibility of three carriers The deplo...