US warship believed to be carrying additional Marines to Middle East tracked off Singapore

It's okay, it's only the fifth time the US has tried to win a war solely through air power. This time it'll work for sure.

Just read earlier today that the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford was going in for repairs ASAP from off the coast of Iran due to a fire that injured several soldiers (Destroyed like 100 beds, smoke inhalation injuries, etc.) as well as clogging toilets, and just the fact that morale was so low after being at sea for like 9 months. I'm sure that will leave a huge hole that needs to be filled out there!

Also Ford is in reportedly in bad shape after the fire and needs immediate dock for repairs.

[deleted]

This is why I question the absurdity of funds that go into military here in the U.S. Don’t get me wrong, I love that I can feel decently safe from foreign attacks affecting my every day life but it cost SO much resources to go to war overseas. A country attacking America would be foolish because you have very little claimable land so you would rely on aircraft carriers and other large ships which puts a major timeline on how long you can actually be out there. If it is so costly to attack us then we really shouldn’t be sacrificing quality of life for the people living here over military prowess but IMO the military has been seen as the president’s tool for a while instead of a defensive force so that is the real reason I believe they dump so much money into it.

That is a sanguine outlook. We have 3 carriers between the Gulf region and the eastern Mediterranean, plus bases all along the Gulf. They don't need an LHA for launching F-35C's. They would only need it for deploying an expeditionary force in Amphibious operations, it is also accompanied by two Amphibious loading docks. This is the force that will assault Kharg island. It is pretty clear now that is what is intended.

They can just operate planes from the ground

They may also be more willing to put an expeditionary ship closer to harm's way compared to a super carrier, which makes the planes more effective.

This ship, the Tripoli, was tested for doing F-35 operations, so its a possibility. But they'd have to embark somewhere to let all of the Marines onboard off and then embark the F-35s somewhere. I don't think they're bringing the Tripoli fod air support. If anything, they'd be bringing the Nimitz or the HW Bush. The Nimitz was scheduled for decommissioning but that was delayed a year. The Nimitz I don't think would be ready, but the Bush is about finish training and therefore could deploy almost immediately. Outside of Kharq island or the strait of Hormuz, I will add one possibility for the MEU deployment: Yemen. There was a ceasefire or truce signed recently but the Houthis are Iranian proxies, and signaled they would cause problems. Its possible that the Marines with Saudi and Yemeni support plan to attack the Houthis on the ground. Thats a a major escalation but probably more "winnable" than invading Iran, because we'd have aid from neighbors and the Houthis are weaker.

I think this one is a replacement for one that was moved to Crete today for repairs after a fire broke out on it(allegedly).

It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I’m pretty sure the NAMP hasn’t changed too much, so the exhaustion of aircraft flight hours as it pertains to maintenance probably isn’t the real factor here. If that was the real issue, we could det out a bunch of aircraft to land bases in and around where the carrier is located. The Air Force does exist for a reason. The real interest is the ground Marines on board. The first real ground troops near coming into theatre. Is there a plan? F*** no! Will this end poorly? Hopefully not. But pray that cooler heads prevail.

Holy damn that's a burn

They are currently busy "defending" themselves all over Lebanon.

Or Israeli Navy ships in the Hormuz Strait? I'm being silly - their Navy is only for blowing up unarmed Palestinian fishing boats or shelling Palestinian youngsters playing Football on the beach.

Oh f***. Those are Oki Marines and probably 3/8 attached.

Rapid response that is taking 2 weeks to get in place

Trump and conservatives on their knees for Bibi. What’s new

I think Israel is going for Lebanon invasion while US goes for the tougher opponent Iran. So either way US troops will likely have more casualties than Israel

anything tougher than kids throwing rocks or unarmed civilians is asking too much of the IDF, been a long time since they pulled off something like the 6 day war

“Israel will provide intelligence.” Great, the same intel that attacked the USS Liberty, tried to bomb a hotel with US/UK citizens, and convinced us to invade their other regional rival based off the false premise of WMDs. Oh and they also told us that Iran has been 2 weeks away from nukes for the past 4 decades. What a wonderful master- I mean ally!

[deleted]

War is peace -1984

Thank you for your attention to this matter

I believe everything just sucks no matter what happens

Lol. "Plan".  There is no plan and never was.

This would be the orangeman justification for a long standing war. Sacrificing 50k troops for his war!

They also sent the Gerald Ford for repair in Crete. Bye bye air support. They'd need to use the airbases if the Arab states give permission

"Israel calls for aid!" "And epstein graduates will answer its call"

“Special operation”. Thank you.

They absolutely are. Iran doesn't aim to win conventionally, they cannot. They want to win by causing as much collateral damage as possible.

What could go wrong landing troops in yet another mountainous region.

Trump would get his ass handed to him in checkers by a dead snail in a sleeping bag 

I thought they were?but yeah the only time I needed to roll my eyes at anyone in Japan was at a group of fuckass American army twats