Army paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division train at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Dec. 8, 2022. About 2,000 soldiers with the 82nd were ordered Tuesday to deploy to the Middle East to potentially support U.S. operations against Iran. (Jillian Hix/U.S. Army)
The 82nd Airborne Division was ordered Tuesday to begin deploying to the Middle East, where about 2,000 paratroopers are headed to potentially join operations against Iran.
The soldiers are being drawn from the 82nd Airborne’s quick-reaction brigade of 3,000 soldiers known as the Immediate Response Force, which is designed to mobilize anywhere in the world in 18 hours, several news outlets reported late Tuesday citing defense officials.
The contingent headed to the Middle East is comprised of two battalions of roughly 800 soldiers each along with the division’s commander, Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, and supporting staff, The New York Times reported.
It was unclear where the soldiers will be located in the Middle East, but they were expected to be positioned within striking distance of Iran, officials told the Times.
The paratroopers will join several thousand Marines also headed to the region, giving President Donald Trump options if he decides to launch a ground attack related to freeing the Strait of Hormuz or other missions.
Army paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division participate in a training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Dec. 8, 2022. Soldiers from the division’s Immediate Response Force, designed to mobilize anywhere in the world within 18 hours, were ordered Tuesday to begin deploying to the Middle East. (Jillian Hix/U.S. Army)
One possible operation for 82nd soldiers and Marine infantrymen is seizing the strategic Kharg Island, a small strip of land in the Persian Gulf that handles 90% of Iranian oil exports.
Experts say the size of the force being sent to the region isn’t large enough to carry out large-scale operations over an expansive amount of territory.
“That (force) is not sufficient for a major invasion nor to hold a single city. [It] says limited/targeted ops only,” Alex Plitsas, an expert with the Atlantic Council think tank, said in a statement on X.
The Immediate Response Force is a go-to unit for the Pentagon during major crises. In 2022, elements of the brigade mobilized as a precaution to Europe as Russian forces began gathering on Ukraine’s border just ahead of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion.
The brigade also assisted in the evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel in Kabul during the hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The soldiers of the 82nd Airborne, one of the Army’s most storied units, specialize in forcing their way into contested territory, often tasked with the job of opening the battlefield for follow-on forces.