The Army air defense units deploying to the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war come from Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort Liberty in North Carolina, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The units are bringing Patriot missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery to the region after more than a dozen drone and rocket attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria over the past week that the Pentagon has blamed on Iranian proxies. NBC News reported Tuesday evening that two dozen American military personnel were wounded in the attacks, but that could not be immediately confirmed by Military.com.
Although Pentagon officials didn't name the Army units being deployed, Fort Bliss is home to the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Liberty hosts the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, and Fort Sill is home to the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
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The units are among the latest deployments to the Middle East following two aircraft carrier strike groups earlier this month; F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets this week — adding to jets and A-10 Thunderbolt II planes already sent; and military advisers including a Marine Corps general versed in urban warfare to aid israel as it wages war on Hamas.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the top Pentagon spokesman who briefed reporters Tuesday, would…
