The Virginia-based USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is expected to deploy to Europe next week near the Middle East, putting a third aircraft carrier near the conflict between Israel and Iran, per CNN reports.
The deployment to the Navy’s fifth and sixth fleet has been scheduled for a several months. How, if at all, it will be involved in the fighting remains unclear.
As of last week, two Virginia-based destroyers, the USS Truxtun and USS Forest Sherman, were already in the region. The Scripps News Group asked Virginia’s two U.S. Senators about the Israel-Iran conflict and their message for deployed sailors.
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“I think those sailors, and their friends and families in Hampton Roads, are owed by this President a clear explanation of what American policy is on this conflict," said Democratic Sen. Mark Warner.
During a regularly-scheduled talk with reporters, Warner expressed frustration about what he felt was a lack of clear communication from the White House about escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
“We have seen endless foreign wars in that region and I think Americans, frankly, thought Donald Trump was not going to put us in another one of those endless foreign wars," Warner said.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said the U.S. already has about 40,000 troops in the region.
“Iran has made plain, if the U.S. joins Israel’s war against us, then U.S. troops will be a target," Kaine said. "You would not, frankly, expect them to say otherwise. That’s one of many reasons why I think we should stay out of a war against Iran."
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Kaine also believes getting involved in a war in the Middle East would take away some of the United States' focus on China, which he said is the biggest threat to the U.S. When asked about his message for the sailors and their families, Kaine said he was praying for them.
“I will just say to families, I’m the father of a Marine reservist. I care very, very deeply about our military families," he said.
With the Ford Carrier Strike Group deployed, the U.S. will have three carriers in the region. The Virginia-based USS Harry S. Truman Carrier strike Group returned from the region at the end of May.
This story was originally published by Colter Anstaett with the Scripps News Group.
