USS Carter Hall and USS Bataan in the Mediterranean on route to the Middle East

The USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) and USS Bataan (LHD-5) are now in the Mediterranean Sea after Wednesday’s passage through the Strait of Gibraltar.

In reaction to Iran’s ongoing seizure of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Bataan, Carter Hall, and portions of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are being sent to U.S. Central Command.

Bataan and Carter Hall will go from the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea.

As part of the American reaction, the destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), and USS McFaul (DDG-74), all of which are a component of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, have already arrived in the area.

As of Monday, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is engaged in operations in the Ionian Sea. As part of the continuing American reaction to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Ford Strike Group was sent to the Mediterranean Sea area.

USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19), USS Bataan, and USS Carter Hall deployed on July 10 as previously reported by USNI News.

Ten days into the deployment, Carter Hall and Bataan were sent to the Middle East by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Austin’s instructions were sent a few days after Iranian soldiers on July 5 tried to board two merchant ships. According to USNI News, the Iranian corvette IRINS Bayandor (81) fired on the commercial tanker Richard Voyager during one of the attempted seizures in the Gulf of Oman.

Since 2021, Iranian military have made 20 attempts to board cargo ships.

Following the country’s exit from Afghanistan, the entrance of Carter Hall and Bataan in U.S. Central Command will leave the greatest footprint in the Middle East.

The USS Essex (LHD-2) left US Central Command in early 2022 and was the last major ship of the US. The last aircraft carrier in the area was the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).