C Pentagon May Keep Paratroopers in Mideast to Counter Iran
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is looking at extending the deployment of a reaction force sent to the Middle East to counter Iran’s militia network, according to three sources and documents provided to The Daily Beast.
The 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in the Mideast in January after Iranian-backed militias attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The roughly 3,000 paratroopers operate as an immediate reaction force, built to deploy on short notice to global hotspots.
The extended deployment, said to be requested by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, would signal that the military does not believe the spread of the novel coronavirus has reduced the risk of violent escalation with Iran’s Iraqi militia network.
But it’s causing confusion and alarm within the brigade, which is currently in Kuwait while Esper has ordered a 60-day freeze on troop movements overseas. Sources told The Daily Beast that seeking the deployment extension was McKenzie’s call, not a result of the freeze, although the extension would last through the end of the freeze.
“We hate that this was an unplanned deployment and that it’s impossible to have any certainty about when we will get home,” a soldier in the brigade told The Daily Beast.
“Even if it’s stupid and we have to deal with Iranian militias, it’s part of the job. But we just hate the uncertainty.”
It’s unclear when the brigade was supposed to return home. One source said their deployment was open-ended and at the pleasure of McKenzie. But a different source said that before Esper’s stop-movement order, the brigade had prepared for redeployment home. Ahead of a decision, the brigade is operating on the expectation that it will remain in the region until the end of May, which would roughly coincide with the anticipated end of the COVID-19 movement freeze.
posted by Satish Sharma at
11:04
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