Sailors and Marines from the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln are conducting air strikes against Iran, according to video released by the Pentagon Monday. The Lincoln is operating alongside the USS Gerald Ford, based in Norfolk, Virginia, in what the Defense Department has designated “Operation Epic Fury.”
The strikes, conducted in concert with Israeli forces, began over the weekend, and have already resulted in American casualties. At least six U.S. Service members were killed Monday when an Iranian air strike hit a makeshift operations center in Kuwait, CNN reported. The attack is believed to have been carried out using a drone.
The unfolding military action has prompted criticism from some members of Congress. Representative Scott Peters, a Democrat representing San Diego, expressed concern that President Trump did not seek Congressional authorization before initiating the strikes. “It’s a constitutional requirement that Congress declare war, and the president has referred to this as a war,” Peters said Monday at a community event in San Diego. “We still haven’t been briefed.” Peters’ district includes Naval Air Station North Island, the Lincoln’s home port.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged the casualties during a Pentagon news conference Monday, stating that losses are an inherent part of major combat operations. “As the president warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties,” Hegseth said. “War is hell and always will be.”
Air Force General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who appeared alongside Hegseth, indicated that the operations are expected to continue for an extended period. “The military objectives…will take some time to achieve and in some cases will be difficult and gritty perform,” Caine said. “We expect to take additional losses. And as always we will work to minimize U.S. Losses, but as the secretary said, What we have is major combat operations.”
Hegseth dismissed comparisons to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, asserting that the current situation is fundamentally different. “To the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars,’ — stop,” he said. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless…this generation knows better and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation-building ‘dumb’ and he’s right. This is the opposite.”
When questioned about the presence of U.S. “boots on the ground” in Iran, Hegseth declined to provide a definitive answer, suggesting that the Pentagon would not disclose operational details. “We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” Hegseth said. “We’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests, but we’re not dumb about it…Going forward, why in the world would we tell you — the enemy, anybody — what we will or will not do in pursuit of an objective? We fight to win.”
Representative Peters stated he will travel to Washington, D.C. Tuesday for a briefing and to participate in a vote on a Congressional war powers resolution.
According to reporting from the Union Leader, the USS Abraham Lincoln is actively supporting Operation Epic Fury. Reporting from army.mil indicates that Hegseth characterized the goals of ‘Epic Fury’ as “laser-focused.” The South Whidbey Record reported that Growlers are considered a ‘critical factor’ in the operation.
