Master-at-Arms 1st Class Julius Earl stands watch with an M240B machine gun aboard guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), May 8, 2023, while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Petty Officer 2nd Class Elliot Schaudt / U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet
US may make armed teams available to commercial ships sailing near Iran
The proposed move echoes a World War II initiative.
The Pentagon is considering putting armed troops on commercial ships transiting the Hormuz Strait, a reaction to aggressive Iranian actions in recent months, a U.S. official said.
The official confirmed that U.S. Marines and sailors are preparing to serve as security teams on commercial ships that request protection from Iranian forces. The Associated Press first reported the proposal on Thursday.
If Defense Department leaders approve the proposal, the military would make available teams of about 20 armed Marines and sailors to embark upon commercial vessels as they move near and through the strait. Just how many teams will be deployed depends on how many the shipping industry asks for, the official said.
The embarked troops would be part of a “layered defense,” the official said, along with the other ships, aircraft, and unmanned systems that are currently in the region on patrol or headed that way, including ships from the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard. Marines from the 26th MEU traveled ahead to begin training before the ARG/MEU arrives, the official said.
The proposal is not an “escalatory measure,” the official said, but rather a response to Iranian attacks, such as a July 5 incident in which Iranian naval vessels fired on two tankers.
In 1987 and 1988, U.S. warships were deployed to escort commercial ships into and through the Persian Gulf, protecting them from attacks during the Iran-Iraq Tanker War. But this Operation Earnest Will did not put U.S. troops aboard the civilian ships; it also required ships seeking protection to temporarily sail under U.S. flag.
Putting military security teams on civilian vessels is something that hasn’t been done since World War II, the official said. This new initiative would echo the Naval Armed Guard Service, which put tens of thousands of specially trained sailors aboard hundreds of U.S. and allied vessels.
Bradley Peniston contributed to this report.