WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth[1], in a rare move, is beefing up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering two aircraft carriers to be there next month as the U.S. increases strikes on the Yemen-based Houthi rebels[2], according to a U.S. official.
It will be the second time in six months that the U.S. has kept two carrier strike groups in that region, with generally only one there. Prior to that it had been years since the U.S. had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.
According to the official, Hegseth signed orders on Thursday to keep the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East for at least an additional month. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations.
The ship has been conducting operations in the Red Sea against the Houthis and was scheduled to begin heading home to Norfolk, Virginia, at the end of March.
And Hegseth has ordered the USS Carl Vinson, which has been operating in the Pacific, to begin steaming toward the Middle East, which will extend its scheduled deployment by three months.
The Vinson is expected to arrive in the region early next month. It had been conducting exercises with Japanese and South Korean forces near the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan and was slated to head home to port in San Diego in three weeks.
The presence of so much U.S. naval power in the region not only gives commanders additional ships to patrol and launch strikes, but it also serves as a clear message of deterrence to Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor.
The Houthis have been waging persistent attacks against commercial and military ships in the region. The Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels[3] and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year. Their leadership described the attacks as aiming to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hegseth's move shifts the Vinson and its warships away from the Indo-Pacific region, which the Trump administration has touted as its main focus.
Instead, this bolsters the latest U.S. campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis. U.S. ships and aircraft launched a new intensive assault against the militant group, including a barrage of attacks over the weekend that continued into this week.
President Donald Trump, in a marked departure from the previous administration, lowered the authorities needed for launching offensive strikes against the Yemen-based Houthis. He recently gave U.S. Central Command the ability to take action when it deems appropriate.
President Joe Biden's administration had required White House approval to conduct offensive strikes such as the ones over the weekend. It did allow U.S. forces to launch defensive attacks whenever necessary, including the authority to take out weapons that appeared to be ready to fire.
Biden went to two carriers in the region for several weeks last fall. Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Roosevelt to extend its deployment for a short time and remain in the region as the USS Abraham Lincoln was pushed to get to the area more quickly. The Biden administration beefed up the U.S. military presence[4] there to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard U.S. troops.
A group of Senate Democrats will be sending a letter Thursday demanding that President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reverse recent policies "that seek to erase records of the historic accomplishments of our troops" amid the administration's removal of online material[1] about women, minority and LGBTQ+ service members and veterans.
The four lawmakers signed onto the letter are Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois; Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut; and Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both of Arizona -- all veterans who serve on the Senate Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees. They cited content about record-breaking female aviators[2], World War II Navajo Code Talkers[3], medal recipients in segregated combat units[4], and "numerous other wartime sacrifices[5] by soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen" as being removed during the purge[6], according to the letter obtained by Military.com.
The senators found it "especially unacceptable" that Arlington National Cemetery scrubbed information[11] about Black, Hispanic and female troops from its "Notable Graves" website, according to the letter.
As of Wednesday, it appeared that biographies previously removed from the cemetery's site were restored, a common trend amid the purge after agencies and military components rushed to comply with the order and were met with disapproval from lawmakers, veterans groups and the public.
The result has been a confusing and inconsistent landscape of inactive webpages that are sometimes restored, while others remain inaccessible.
"We object to the department removing from the public record stories that feature extraordinary achievements of warriors and veterans," the letter states. "We urge you to promptly reverse these indiscriminate, sweeping actions seeking to erase the legacy of our service members."
Military.com previously reported[12] that material related to the Code Talkers; Medal of Honor[13] recipients and women who served during the Civil War, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War were removed from various service or Pentagon websites in the last month.
The Associated Press reported[17] Thursday that some webpages for the Code Talkers and other Native American veterans were restored, though it noted "any that also mention Native American Heritage Month remain down" and thousands of other pages about diverse groups of service members and veterans are still inactive.
On Wednesday, Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot, referencing Robinson, the Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen and Marines at Iwo Jima, issued a statement saying that, "in the rare cases that content is removed -- either deliberately or by mistake -- that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period."
"We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex," he added. "We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like ever [sic] other American who has worn the uniform."
The removal of such sites following Pentagon guidance last month to embark on a "digital content refresh," according to a memo Hegseth signed, "resulted in the erasure of important American stories of heroism of current and past service members," the lawmakers said.
They argued that "removing these records exacerbates an already concerning recruiting[18] crisis, undermines morale across the Joint Force, and betrays our nation's commitment to honoring the service of veterans."
They added that "these shortsighted actions" would discourage eligible Americans from signing up for the military because it sends "a message that they will not be welcomed in the armed forces." They also alleged that the purge creates division in the ranks, and adversaries would look to capitalize on that discord.
"Finally, your administration claims to support warriors and Veterans, but these needless actions undermine a basic commitment to our heroes in uniform – that their sacrifices in service of Americans will be appropriately honored and remembered," the letter said. "Public celebration of those military officers and enlisted service members who made extraordinary contributions to the military and the American people is the least we owe them and their family, friends and communities."
On Jan. 29, Trump issued an executive order directing the military to get rid of programs, offices and initiatives related to what the administration refers to as DEI. Over the following month, services began removing websites highlighting those programs or historical references to diverse groups, in some cases having to add them back later.
"We are encouraged by steps the department has taken to reinstate some of these webpages, including the page highlighting Charles C. Rogers, the Medal of Honor recipient, and Air Force[19] training websites related to the Tuskegee Airmen," the letter said, citing an early example of one of the services reversing course on removals[20]. "However, we remain concerned that these efforts to correct the record are ad hoc, reactive and insufficient."
Trump's executive order was followed by a policy from Hegseth in January that banned government funds and recognition for cultural awareness months such as Black History Month and Women's History Month, declaring that "identity months [are] dead at [the] DoD."
The lawmakers demanded that Trump and Hegseth respond to their letter by April 1 with information about specific guidance the services have received on archiving material as they apply to the Federal Records Act, a law that requires the government to maintain documents; how many man-hours and the cost required to purge the material; and when the material would be restored.
When asked whether Duckworth expects the administration to respond by that date and, should it not, what other mechanisms the lawmakers have to reverse the policies outlined in their letter, a spokesperson for the senator said she "has already pledged to be a blanket 'no' vote on all cabinet-level nominees in protest of the Trump administration's lawlessness and she will continue to consider other ways she can apply pressure on the administration until they restore these website pages that should have never been taken down in the first place."
At the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, museum visitors can see an impressive collection of artifacts, from battle and dress uniforms of recipients to flags, dog tags, family photos and firearms dating back to World War I.
The small team of workers at The Institute of Heraldry not only create military emblems and insignia, they also conduct quality assurance checks to make sure those products are worthy of the institutions they represent.
