USS Wasp Assault Ship Sails to Mediterranean Amid High Tensions

Sailors and military service personnel arrive on the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship on the Hudson River during fleet week, May 24, 2023, in New York.

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp has made its way through the Strait of Gibraltar into the eastern Mediterranean Sea as the United States positions its warships to attempt to prevent the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon from escalating into a broader Middle East conflict.

While the USS Wasp has the capability to aid in civilian evacuations if a full-scale war erupts between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon border, a U.S. official clarified that this is not its primary mission. "It's about deterrence," the official emphasized.

A second unnamed U.S. official told The Associated Press that this rotation is akin to the U.S. deploying the USS Bataan assault ship to the waters around Israel following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The Bataan remained in the eastern Mediterranean for months to provide options and help contain the conflict.

"Wasp is truly the number one ship in the fleet," said Capt. Chris Purcell, Wasp's commanding officer in a news release shared by U.S. Navy. "We've all worked tirelessly to reach this point. I am grateful for the energy our Sailors and Marines bring to the fight each day and confident they will meet every challenge head on over the coming months."

U.S. European Command, overseeing ships in the Mediterranean, announced this week that the Wasp, accompanied by the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, will sail alongside the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, which transports Marines, landing craft, vehicles, and cargo. The Oak Hill is already stationed in the Mediterranean.

Additionally, the Wasp is accompanied by the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, capable of delivering troops via on-deck helicopters or landing vessels.

This deployment comes as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border strikes since the Oct. 7 attacks that launched the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and they have been escalating gradually.

Last week, the Israeli army announced it had "approved and validated" plans for an offensive in Lebanon, though any decision will be made by the country's political leaders.

On Sunday, Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that any Israeli military offensive into Lebanon could provoke an Iranian response in defense of Hezbollah, potentially triggering a broader conflict that could endanger American forces in the region.

The U.S. military has also repositioned other ships in the area. The Pentagon announced that the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is returning home after more than eight months of countering strikes from Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt will take the Eisenhower's place.

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