The Navy has sent the San Diego-based destroyers USS Stockdale and USS William P. Lawrence, and the cruiser USS Princeton, to the Red Sea as the situation in Syria heats up. The three ships are part of the the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (homeport Everett, Washington) which is currently patrolling the Red Sea.
An unnamed U.S. defense official told Reuters the Navy moved the strike group into the Red Sea on Monday as "prudent planning" if the situation in Syria warrants U.S. military intervention:
"It does place that strike group in a position to respond to a variety of contingencies."
President Barack Obama on Saturday announced that he would seek congressional authorization for a military strike against Syria, as reported by the Washington Post, alleging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used Sarin gas on his own people.
Carrier Air Wing 11, which is based at NAS Lemoore in Central California, is also deployed with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group.
