USS Boxer Leaves San Diego Early with Amphibious Group, Set for Middle East Operations Support
San Diego-based amphibious force begins transit as U.S. shifts additional naval capacity toward Central Command
The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) has departed Naval Base San Diego to begin an overseas movement expected to culminate in support of U.S. military operations in the Middle East. The ship is sailing as the centerpiece of an amphibious formation that pairs Navy sea-lift and aviation capability with an embarked Marine expeditionary force designed for rapid response across a range of missions.
Publicly available deployment tracking and recent Navy operational updates indicate Boxer got underway from San Diego in early March 2026, following an extended period of at-sea training off Southern California conducted with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU). That training period included integrated ship-to-shore and aviation operations intended to certify the force for forward employment.
What the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group brings
Boxer’s departure is associated with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), a three-ship amphibious package that typically includes an amphibious assault ship, an amphibious transport dock, and a dock landing ship. In this case, the formation has been reported as USS Boxer alongside USS Portland (LPD 27) and USS Comstock (LSD 45), carrying roughly 4,000 service members, including about 2,500 Marines.
The ARG-MEU construct is designed to provide a self-contained, sea-based force able to execute missions that can include noncombatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, limited strikes, and amphibious operations. Boxer’s large flight deck and hangar support a mix of Marine aircraft, while the accompanying amphibious ships provide well-deck capacity for landing craft and vehicles and additional aviation and logistics support.
USS Boxer (LHD 4): Serves as the primary aviation and command platform for the amphibious force.
USS Portland (LPD 27): Provides troop transport, command-and-control spaces, and a well deck for landing craft operations.
USS Comstock (LSD 45): Adds capacity for surface connectors and equipment movement from ship to shore.
Regional context and operational relevance
The movement comes as U.S. naval forces have periodically surged additional ships into the Middle East over the past two years amid elevated regional tensions and ongoing maritime security demands. Amphibious forces are often used to provide flexible options short of large-scale ground deployments, with the ability to reposition quickly and operate from international waters.
The amphibious ready group and embarked Marine expeditionary unit are structured to act as a forward-deployable, sea-based rapid response force, combining aviation, surface maneuver, and logistics in a single formation.
San Diego’s role and the Boxer’s recent readiness history
For San Diego, Boxer’s departure underscores the region’s continuing role as a hub for Navy and Marine Corps expeditionary power. The ship returned from a prior overseas deployment in late 2024, after earlier maintenance issues in 2024 interrupted an initial attempt to deploy. Since then, Boxer and its embarked Marines have completed a new cycle of integrated training events intended to ensure the ship and crew can sustain operations during a long transit and potential employment in a high-demand theater.
U.S. officials have not released a detailed public timeline for Boxer’s arrival or specific operational tasks in the Middle East. The ship’s movement, however, aligns with a broader pattern of positioning multi-mission naval forces to expand commanders’ options for crisis response and regional security operations.