We have always had a MEU, Marine Expeditionary Unit, stationed on an LHD carrier with support vessels in the Middle East.
Typically they are deployed from Camp Pendleton like the 11th MEU I was on 2 years ago on the USS Bonhomme Richard, LHD-6.
What is new is that a second MEU is coming on deck to patrol the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. The reason is that we are unable to use our previous staging base on Bahrain due to political problems there and we need a platform.
The other new issue is that the W Coast MEU is now very busy at the Horn of Africa, Red Sea and Yemen and can’t cover the entire Middle East as before.
Too many new theaters and too much geography for our rapid response units to cover as before.
Thanks for the info.