Thousands of U.S. Marines and Army paratroopers in the Middle East would boost the president’s military options against Iran, but there are risks.
The U.S. military has deployed several thousand additional infantry troops to the Middle East in recent weeks, raising speculation of imminent ground combat in the conflict with Iran.
Military analysts have proposed a handful of potential missions for U.S. ground forces, including seizing key territory in the Persian Gulf or mounting a raid deep into Iran.
Since the start of the military campaign against Iran—dubbed Operation Epic Fury—the Pentagon has deployed two amphibious groups closer to the Middle East.
Each group includes Marine air and ground combat forces.
A core element of one of the two deployed amphibious ready groups, led by the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship, reached the waters of the Middle East last week with about 3,500 U.S. sailors and Marines, attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
The second amphibious group is sailing west across the Pacific and could potentially bolster the existing U.S. force presence in the Middle East before the Iran conflict ends.
The Pentagon has also dispatched elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, including the division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT).
The 82nd Airborne Division is America’s premier paratrooper force and can deploy virtually anywhere around the world on short notice.
These thousands of additional U.S. infantry forces come even as President Donald Trump has signaled that the Iran campaign is coming to a close.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on March 27, said the U.S. military could achieve its objectives without boots on the ground in Iran, but that additional forces were arriving “to give the president maximum optionality.”
In a press briefing on March 31, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth avoided announcing or ruling out any military actions against Iran, including ground operations.
“Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are.” Hegseth said.
Additional Forces Arriving
A combined amphibious group and embarked Marine expeditionary unit includes a squadron of fighter jets, as well as a squadron of attack and transport helicopters.
The USS Tripoli is a newer America-class amphibious assault ship, and its embarked fighter squadron consists of short-takeoff-capable F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jets.
The ground combat element of the 31st MEU comprises members of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
This unit participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, which saw some of the heaviest urban combat in Marine Corps history.
Led by the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, the 11th MEU is still crossing the Pacific and could take weeks to reach the waters of the Middle East, if it is so assigned.
The ground combat component of the 11th MEU currently comprises the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
The 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, also participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Second Battle of Fallujah.
Known as the “Devil Brigade,” the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st BCT trains to deploy at a moment’s notice, in support of the division’s overall mission to serve as a so-called “immediate response force.”
The 1st BCT deployed to Iraq in January 2020, in the days after Trump ordered an assassination strike on Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The 1st BCT also deployed to Afghanistan in August 2021, where it supported the civilian evacuation and final U.S. troop withdrawal from the country.
By Ryan Morgan
