Naval Base Coronado, which includes Naval Air Station North Island, announced on March 1 that it has increased security measures at all nine installations as the war between Israel-U.S. and Iran spreads through the Middle East.
Coronado-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is on the front lines, launching the first attacks on Feb. 28, and several other North Island units are involved.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump approved a large-scale airstrike on Iran – a joint attack with Israel – killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move the U.S. military described as cutting off the “head of the snake.”
Khamenei ruled for almost 40 years, becoming the longest reigning head-of-state in the Middle East at the time of his assassination – a control Trump said was a dictatorship.
The United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical, dictatorship from threatening America and our core, national security interests.
President Donald Trump
“The United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical, dictatorship from threatening America and our core, national security interests,” Trump announced in a video posted to Truth Social on Feb. 28, just hours before it was confirmed that Khamenei had been killed.
Operation Epic Fury
The war, officially named Operation Epic Fury, was characterized by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as “the most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history.”
Many elected Democrats and some Republicans assailed the U.S. action, contending that Trump launched a war without congressional approval and that the conflict threatens to damage security not just in the Middle East, but worldwide.
In the aftermath of the initial attack, Iran retaliated with missile and drone launches against Israel, also targeting U.S. military bases and civilians in at least a dozen locations, including the Port of Dubai and residential areas in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Trump said in the video that the objective behind Operation Epic Fury is to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
USS Abraham Lincoln in the front lines
The Lincoln took part in the attack’s first wave of war after it was relocated to the Arabian Sea just about a month ago amid tensions over Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
According to U.S. Central Command (CentCom), the United States and Israel began striking targets on Feb. 28 to dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus.
The Lincoln launched jet attacks while the USS Spruance, an escort ship, fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iranian targets, CentCom reports.
“The President ordered bold action, and our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, guardians, and coast guardsmen are answering the call,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CentCom.
Carrier Air Wing 9 is also on the front lines aboard the Lincoln, including three squadrons from North Island: VRM 30, a fleet logistics multi-mission squadron; HSM 71, a helicopter maritime strike squadron; and HSC 14, a helicopter sea combat squadron.
Central Command updates
As of 7:30 a.m. ET March 2, four U.S. service members were killed in action, CentCom announced on its Facebook page.
It also denied claims by the Iranian regime that the carrier had been damaged by ballistic missiles. “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” CentCom wrote.
The command released a list of U.S. assets that are deployed in the combat arena, including stealth bombers, guided missile destroyers, fighter jets and another nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat who represents San Diego, released a statement calling the war “unwise and dangerous.”
Like many Americans, I did not see an imminent threat to the United States that required immediate military action. This makes me deeply concerned about the risk of American lives being lost in someone else’s war.
Rep. Scott Peters
“Like many Americans, I did not see an imminent threat to the United States that required immediate military action,” Peters wrote. “This makes me deeply concerned about the risk of American lives being lost in someone else’s war.”
President Trump encouraged Iranians in his video to take over their government now that the supreme leader had been killed.
“To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.”
