US military families are being warned that troops deployed to the Middle East could remain there for another year or longer, as Washington’s six-month-old war with Iran shows no clear sign of ending. Elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division could stay in the region well into 2027, according to a letter sent to soldiers’ families and seen by The Wall Street Journal. The warning comes after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had promised a swift and decisive campaign. Families get the news they feared “We do not share that lightly,” military leaders told families, acknowledging the strain a prolonged deployment places on households. The 82nd Airborne is not alone. Army air-defence units responsible for intercepting Iranian missiles and drones have seen standard deployments stretched from nine months to a full year, while some troops originally destined for Europe or the Pacific have already spent more than 12 months in the Middle East. The operational strain is mounting. Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned that extended tours risk exhausting personnel, delaying maintenance and undermining longer-term modernisation. Warships pushed to breaking point The Navy is facing its own punishing tempo. Nineteen US warships are currently operating in Middle Eastern waters, including two aircraft carriers and 13 guided-missile destroyers enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports. Some destroyers, carrying roughly 300 sailors each, are spending months at sea without the regular breaks expected during normal deployments. The USS Gerald R. Ford spent 11 months at sea before returning home in May — the longest aircraft-carrier deployment since the end of the Cold War. No clear end — and escalation still possible The pressure is being compounded by disrupted regional resupply, forcing greater reliance on Diego Garcia and reducing sailors’ access to mail, care packages and time ashore. Yet even as Trump privately discusses declaring the war over, his administration is considering further escalation, including strikes on a fortified nuclear facility and ground operations around the Strait of Hormuz. For military families, the message is stark: the war they were promised would be short could stretch deep into 2027. 'We do not share that lightly': Pentagon breaks bad news to families about Trump's war
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