Senior military officials from the United States are considering sending a combat brigade from the US Army’s airborne troops to support the US military operations in Iran.
The forces will be from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and some elements of the division’s headquarters staff, New York Times cited US defence officials as saying.
According to the officials, no decision to this effect has been ordered officially by the Pentagon or the US Central command. They termed the military’s actions as prudent planning.
Which troops may be potentially deployed and why?
The combat forces, according to NYT, will come from the 82nd Airborne’s “Immediate Response Force”, which constitutes about 3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours.
According to the report, the deployment of the troops could be done for seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub. The officials said that another possibility under consideration, if US President Donald Trump authorises US troops to take the island, is an attack by about 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is allegedly on its way towards the region, NYT reported.
Trump has, in the past, ruled out sending any troops to the region. The US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force, or ready brigade, has been deployed on short notice multiple times in recent years, including to the Middle Eastin January 2020 after the Baghdad Embassy was attacked, and to Afghanistan in August 2021 for evacuations.
How would the troop deployment unfold?
According to former US commanders, the Marines could be brought in first, given that the airfield on Kharg Island was damaged by the recent bombing by America.
The Marines’ combat engineers could quickly repair airfields and other airport infrastructure, NYT cited the former commanders as saying, following which the Air Force could start flowing matériel and supplies, as well as troops, if necessary, by C-130s.
Pentagon officials consider deploying airborne troops to support military operations in Iran
