Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth authorized U.S. military dependents in the Middle East to voluntarily depart from the region this week amid increased tension in the Middle East, which led to Israel striking Iran on Thursday.
According to Fox News, an anonymous U.S. defense official told the outlet on Wednesday, “The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the CENTCOM AOR.”
Fox News reported that while Hegseth’s authorization for the voluntary departure of military dependents mostly affects military dependents who live near the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain since the country has a higher number of U.S. military dependents than other countries in the Middle East region, the defense secretary’s authorization also affects other military bases throughout Central Command’s area of responsibility. The outlet noted that U.S. military dependents in Syria, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are also included as part of Hegseth’s authorization for voluntary departure.
While the United States has authorized military dependents to voluntarily depart from the region, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to Fox News that the U.S. military will not evacuate any uniformed service members in the Middle East.
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In addition to Hegseth’s authorization, a U.S. official told Fox News that General Michael Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, postponed a testimony in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday as a result of increased tension in the Middle East. The general’s decision to postpone his testimony came prior to Israel’s strikes against Iran.
The official told Fox News, “CENTCOM is working in close coordination with our Department of State counterparts, as well as our Allies and partners in the region to maintain a constant state of readiness to support any number of missions around the world at any time.”
According to The Associated Press, the State Department also confirmed that it ordered all nonessential personnel to depart from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in an effort to continue “keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.”
During an appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, President Donald Trump addressed the reports of nonessential personnel being removed from the Middle East.
“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens.”
