The San Diego-based warships USS Boxer and USS Portland and the Camp Pendleton Marines they’ve been carrying for months have arrived in the Middle East to support Operation Epic Fury as a fragile peace continues between the U.S. and Iran.
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The U.S. Central Command said Boxer, a “mini” aircraft carrier specializing in amphibious warfare, and Portland, a troop transport ship, officially transited from the Indian Ocean to the Middle East on Tuesday.
The transition occurred far later than originally expected.
In March, President Donald Trump dispatched Boxer, Portland and a third San Diego ship, the troop transport USS Comstock, to the Middle East. At the time, he was considering a ground war against Iran that would have required putting Marines ashore, a path Trump did not take. The three ships were collectively carrying as many as 2,500 Camp Pendleton Marines.
Tensions eased and the ships have mostly been operating in the Indo-Pacific. The Navy says Comstock shifted to the Middle East in May. Collectively, they form the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group.
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This latest shift increases the presence of San Diego warships in the region. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln continues to play a dominant role in Epic Fury. Its escorts include the destroyer USS Spruance, according to the U.S. Naval Institute fleet tracker.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, the cruiser USS Princeton is helping guard the carrier USS George H. W. Bush. The 37-year-old Princeton is expected to be decommissioned when it returns to San Diego. It is one of the Navy’s last Ticonderoga-class cruisers.
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