The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG)—including the USS Boxer (LHD-4), USS Comstock (LSD-45), and USS Portland (LPD-27)—alongside the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU), has departed the U.S. West Coast and is heading to the Middle East.

According to officials speaking to Newsmax, the deployment has been accelerated, with the group expected to transit directly through the Indo-Pacific to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility near Iran, as part of a Pentagon-ordered effort to surge additional firepower into the region.