Many US military aircraft arrived at the Souda base in Crete and Eleusis near Athens

Souda Air Base on the island of Crete has seen a major mobilization of American aircraft after the United States approached Greece with a request to use military facilities to park large American aircraft, as well as to house special operations forces.

Souda Bay Naval and Air Force Base, located in Chania in western Crete, is a major Greek Navy and NATO base. In an exclusive report from the news site cnngreece.gr reported dozens of military aircraft, transports and flying tankers had been deployed to the 115th Combat Wing, with the Americans asking Greece to provide them with a second air base to park their aircraft.

Images published by CNN Greece show that it hosts at least 7 flying tankers, 10 C-130 special mission aircraft, 1 KC-135 electronic warfare aircraft and 1 advanced Boeing P-8 Poseidon naval operations aircraft, as well as AC-130ö.

According to CNN Greece, a large number of US Marines have already landed at Souda.

At the 112th Combat Wing at Eleusina Air Base in western Attica, the second base requested and approved for the relocation of American large aircraft because it has space available and suitable hangars for large heavy aircraft, the first aircraft landings began over the weekend.

Aviation sources told CNN Greece that the use of other Greek air bases, such as on Karpathos, could not be ruled out if the Americans approve of the existing infrastructure on the island.

Another reason why permission to use the 112 Combat Wing was requested is the need for the possible evacuation of civilians from the combat zone, as well as neighboring countries, such as Lebanon.

Night Ops, Flight Ops🌙🛫#MightyIKE carrier strike group conducts night-flight operations during a scheduled deployment. Day and night, IKE is launching and recovering aircraft.#WeLikeIKE #GreaterEachDay @flynavy pic.twitter.com/z6mKTraY9u

— USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (IKE) (@TheCVN69) October 23, 2023

USS Eisenhower arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean

The deployment of a second American aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean is evidence of the United States’ “iron commitment to Israel’s security,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said recently, referring to the USS Eisenhower and its escort ships, which will enter the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming hours.

The USS Eisenhower will join the first aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, deployed to the region since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

CNN Greece recalls that the last time the US mobilized two aircraft carriers in the Middle East was in 2020, following a missile attack on Camp Taji in Iraq that killed two US soldiers. The news site notes that the deployment of American forces is intended to send a strong message to Iran.

American Air Force planes arrived at the Eleusis military airport near Athens. This The location of the 112th Fighter Wing of the Greek Air Force will soon become a base for parking US Air Force transport aircraft, the publication reports. Kathimerini.

This is not the first time that the Americans have used a Greek air base for transport or force movement, but the shadow of a major war in the Middle East creates additional demands for the movement of materiel and personnel, and the 112th Elefsina Air Base, the main base of the Greek Air Force military transport fleet, is the perfect place for this. According to highly informed K sources, from 5 to 8 US Air Force C-130 aircraft will be deployed to Elefsina. Along with them, a total of 120 officers and non-commissioned officers of the American armed forces will be transferred to the territory of 112 IAP to support them.

Michalis Ignasiou of hellasjournal.com warns that once several hundred USAFE officers and non-commissioned officers arrive in Attica, they could become a target for Iran and other pro-Palestinian forces.

The US knows that Iran’s investment in the accuracy of its missiles makes Tehran a significant threat to the military forces of America and its allies, and at the same time this Muslim power is considered an active supplier of such weapons to groups in Iraq, Lebanon (Hezbollah), Palestinian Hamas, as well as Yemen , from where the missiles neutralized by an American destroyer in the Persian Gulf were launched 48 hours ago.

The Communist Party of Greece issued a statement condemning the provision of Greek bases to the American military, as stated in a statement by the KKE published by the publication 902.gr. The communists called on the Greek authorities not to take part in the conflict, either directly or indirectly, through the deployment of American troops on Greek territory.

PS Apparently, Greece, if not directly, then indirectly is already taking part in this conflict, which means it can become the target of sabotage units of countries supporting Palestine.

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