Senior officials at the US War Department are considering deploying a brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division to support a possible operation in Iran, the New York Times reported.
According to previous reports, one option under discussion is taking control of Kharg Island, whose oil terminal handles about 90% of Iran's oil exports. The Pentagon and US Central Command declined to comment.
The 82nd Airborne Division, headquartered at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, is considered the US Army's premier rapid-response ground force. The reported deployment would include a single brigade of roughly 3,000 troops, capable of operating anywhere in the world within 18 hours, along with elements of the division's headquarters staff.
The division's combat history includes the Normandy invasion during World War II, as well as fighting in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It also played a key role in the evacuation from Kabul airport in 2021, which marked the end of the US military presence in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, CBS reported that senior commanders had submitted specific requests to prepare for a possible ground deployment, as President Donald Trump weighs his next steps in the war. According to the network, the military has also held discussions on how to handle potential Iranian detainees, including where they would be transferred if the president orders a ground incursion.
The decision that fueled speculation
Earlier this month, it was reported that the division abruptly canceled a major headquarters exercise, sparking speculation at the Pentagon that it could be headed to the region. The New York Times added that the exercise, involving about 300 headquarters personnel at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was canceled to ensure the staff remained at Fort Bragg and ready for immediate orders.
According to the report, because Kharg Island's airstrip was damaged in recent strikes, a more likely scenario is that US Marines would seize the island first via a naval operation. Their combat engineering teams would then repair the runways, allowing the Air Force to begin transporting supplies and forces by cargo aircraft.
In that scenario, the airborne division would arrive to reinforce the Marines. The advantage of paratroopers is their ability to deploy rapidly, but their disadvantage, according to the report, is the lack of heavy armored equipment to defend against a potential Iranian counterattack. The Marines, by contrast, lack the airborne division's ability to sustain prolonged independent operations and could be replaced by it after the initial phase.
At the same time, two US Marine Expeditionary Units are still en route to the region. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, comprising about 2,200 troops, departed Japan on March 13 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, which also carries F-35 fighter jets and helicopters, along with two additional amphibious ships, and is expected to arrive by the end of the month. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, with about 2,500 troops, left San Diego last week aboard the USS Boxer and two accompanying vessels and is expected to arrive in several weeks.
Fox News reported Monday that aviation enthusiasts and open-source intelligence analysts had identified dozens of cargo flights over the past two days departing US bases associated with the division, including Fort Bragg, Fort Stewart in Georgia and Fort Campbell in Kentucky, heading toward the Middle East. The deployment of the division to the region has not been officially confirmed.
Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford returned Monday to Souda Bay in Crete after a fire broke out in a laundry room on March 12, injuring two crew members and causing damage that has affected onboard living conditions.
The ship has been at sea for nearly nine months, a deployment that included operations in the Caribbean, the interception of tankers and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, before joining operations related to Iran. Its departure from the region creates a gap in US air power, although experts told AFP that some of its accompanying vessels may remain near Israel, mitigating the immediate impact of its withdrawal.
