WASHINGTON — News reports on U.S. military operations in Iraq and the Mideast have focused primarily on ground forces. However, the U.S. Navy has been increasing its role in security
operations in the region.
Officials said Central Command, amid the emergence of an Iranian threat,
has bolstered the naval presence in the Middle East. They said more than
11,000 sailors have been deployed at sea in the Middle East, and 12,000
sailors were stationed in U.S. Central Command countries.
"This war to defeat terrorism is not something that is put directly onto
the army or marine corps; it's put onto the military as a whole," U.S. Navy
spokesman Lt. Trey Brown told Middle East Newsline. "It's up to the military as a whole to win.
With that in mind, our sailors have a lot of skills that are very useful and
are very sought after by the commanders that are in Central Command and in
Iraq."
In Iraq, officials said, about 4,300 sailors have been deployed on the
ground. They said the sailors have been performing such missions such as
civil affairs, medical operations and detention.
Brown said navy personnel have also been conducting construction
tasks and customs inspections. So far, the navy has lost 56 sailors in
Iraq and 29 in Afghanistan.
In late September, 520 sailors were removed from a detention facility in
northern Iraq. The unit has been replaced by other sailors assigned to
operate the prison.
Brown said every sailor sent to the Middle East has undergone
specialized training to prepare for the mission. He said the level of
training depends on the mission.
"Certainly we anticipate that our sailors are going to continue to be in
high demand," Brown said. "The skills that we have will continue to be
wanted over there."
In the northern Gulf, the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group has been
operating for about six months to conduct maritime security missions. The
strike group has been conducting maritime security operations to protect
commercial shipping and Iraq's two oil terminals in the northern Arabian
Gulf.
On Sept. 25, Navy Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, commander of the Enterprise
Carrier Strike Group, told a news conference that aircraft from the USS
Enterprise conducted hundreds of missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. Spicer
said the missions have centered on intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance.
Spicer said the navy group has been exercising near the Iranian border.
He said U.S. relations with the Iranian Navy remain cordial and
professional.
"They're usually limited to when we transit, say, the Strait of Hormuz
or other waters that are relatively close to Iran," Spicer said. "And we're
fairly closely located to their naval forces, then we exchange information
over the bridge-to-bridge radios, and it's usually who are you, where are
you going. And, you know, we can only say so much, but then they say, 'Okay,
thanks.'"
