General warns Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel -…

U.S. European Command General Outlines Resource Tradeoffs in Projected Israel Defense Scenario

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of U.S. European Command, has submitted written notification to Pentagon leadership regarding naval asset allocation in a projected multi-theater contingency involving defense of Israel against ballistic missiles, according to officials familiar with the correspondence. The notification states that, absent assignment of an additional Navy destroyer, European Command would face a choice between prioritizing assets for homeland defense missions and sustaining current levels of support for Israeli missile defense, the officials said.

The notification follows standard military practice in which combatant commanders document resource shortfalls for senior civilian and military review. A defense official described such communications as routine when commanders identify competing demands on limited platforms and munitions. The Pentagon has declined to comment on the specific notification. U.S. European Command has not issued a response to inquiries, and the Israeli Embassy in Washington has not provided comment.

The scenario described in the notification assumes continuation of a five-month period of near-daily missile exchanges that resumed after the suspension of talks between Washington and Tehran. Under the scenario, U.S. Navy destroyers equipped with Aegis radar and Standard Missile interceptors would continue operations in the eastern Mediterranean that have been conducted for years to intercept projectiles directed at Israel. Those projectiles include systems attributed to Iranian forces and to Houthi forces in Yemen.

European Command maintains operational responsibility for Mediterranean maritime activities while also retaining forces designated for NATO collective defense obligations. Russian ballistic missile systems capable of reaching U.S. territory remain a planning factor for the command. The Navy currently maintains five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers homeported in Rota, Spain, with a sixth scheduled to arrive later in the year. Maintenance backlogs associated with sustained high-tempo operations have affected availability projections, officials said. The Washington Post has withheld specific readiness data at the request of defense officials citing operational security.

Earlier Pentagon assessments referenced in the reporting indicated that U.S. interceptors, including those launched from naval platforms in the eastern Mediterranean and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries, accounted for the majority of engagements against Iranian ballistic missiles during the assumed conflict period. On the date referenced in the reporting, two destroyers—the USS Paul Ignatius and USS Roosevelt—were positioned in the Mediterranean. Three additional destroyers—the USS Arleigh Burke, USS Bulkeley, and USS Oscar Austin—were in Rota. An additional carrier strike group centered on the USS George H.W. Bush and USS Abraham Lincoln, along with at least fifteen other warships including eleven destroyers, was positioned in the Arabian Sea. One further destroyer, the USS Gonzalez, was operating in the Red Sea.

The scenario incorporates a U.S. naval presence enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports following Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic. The same forces have conducted operations under the designation Project Freedom to protect shipping transiting the strait. Separately, Houthi forces have attempted to interdict commercial traffic in the Red Sea; Saudi Arabia has organized a coalition intended to maintain freedom of navigation in that waterway.

Public opinion polling and congressional statements have registered declining support for sustained U.S. military involvement in the scenario. Members of both parties have requested additional detail on objectives and termination criteria. Some Republican members have expressed concern that elevated energy and commodity prices could affect electoral outcomes in the November midterms. Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stated that sustained wartime operations affect both platform readiness and munitions stocks, and that strategy documents should address how such demands will be met over time.

The reporting draws on ship location data current as of the referenced date and on previously published Pentagon assessments of interceptor usage. No classified operational details beyond those already acknowledged by the Defense Department have been included.