I have posted previously about the lack of US defense missiles.
Now Gen. Alexus Grynkewich has sent a written notice to his superiors. https://archive.is/EVHzr#selection-393.0-393.22 The top U.S. general in Europe privately warned the Pentagon this week that he lacks sufficient naval forces to continue protecting Israel from incoming ballistic missiles, officials said, illustrating how the ongoing Iran war has imposed constraints on the military.
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of U.S. European Command, sent written notification to senior Pentagon officials saying that without another Navy destroyer he will be forced to choose defense of the United States “homeland” over that of Israel, said the officials, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the correspondence.
A U.S. defense official said Grynkewich’s notification appears consistent with past outreach to the Pentagon from the military’s top generals when they see certain risks that require Washington’s consideration. This can occur, the official said, as commanders compete for finite resources and weapons.
The Pentagon declined to comment. U.S. European Command did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment.
No, a sixth destroyer is not immediately available to fill the gap in European Command, though an exact timeline remains constrained by widespread operational bottlenecks. [1]
The current availability status breakdown reveals severe multi-theater strain: [1, 2]
Active Fleet Status
The Mediterranean Fleet: The U.S. currently has five forward-deployed destroyers based out of Rota, Spain. However, as of Friday, only two (USS Paul Ignatius and USS Roosevelt) were actively positioned in the Mediterranean. [2, 3, 4]
The Rota Reserve: The remaining three destroyers (USS Arleigh Burke, USS Bulkeley, and USS Oscar Austin) are docked in Spain but cannot be immediately deployed due to severe maintenance backlogs caused by the tempo of the Iran war. [1, 2]
The Arabian Sea Fleet: An armada of 11 destroyers is positioned closer to Iran to enforce the naval blockade, leaving them completely unavailable to reinforce the European Command theater. [2, 5, 6]
Future Reinforcements
The Pentagon has a sixth destroyer scheduled to arrive in Rota, Spain, but it is not expected until later this year. Furthermore, defense analysts warn that adding a nominal hull cannot instantly resolve the underlying issues: depleted interceptor missile magazines, crew fatigue, and the need to maintain readiness against potential Russian threats to NATO. [3, 4, 7]
Would you like to know more about which missile interceptors are running low, or the status of the Strait of Hormuz blockade? [5, 8]
Note the 11 destroyers are defending the Strait and separately 5 are protecting Israel.
We have more destroyers. When they are available is the problem.
But look most of the news today particularly as reporters work through their social media reading is garbage from dictatorships being fed back to us as if the truth.