US Navy Insanity in the Persian Gulf

Before the Iran war, roughly 8,300 Americans lived near Naval Support Activity Bahrain, which included the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet and regional naval supply support. It consisted of sailors, civilian defense employees, contractor personnel, and military families. Before the Iran war, anti-ship missiles and ground attack ballistic missiles had become far more accurate, so supporting US Navy warships from inside the Persian Gulf was considered foolish should a war occur. It was obvious that maintaining the US Navy’s regional logistics and command base at Bahrain inside the Persian Gulf was insane, but nothing changed.

Rational people agree that the US Navy should abandon ideas of rebuilding Bahrain and redirect manpower and resources to improving other naval bases and procuring at least two destroyer tenders to support fleets worldwide. Strong civilian leadership is needed because the Navy bureaucracy instinctively fights any proposal to close any Navy base or eliminate any major headquarters.

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“Navy families evacuated from Bahrain face ‘uncharted territory’ amid bureaucratic confusion”; Navy Times; Lara Korte; August 22, 2026; https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy… (Note the previous articles about this topic linked at the end)

“MIT Professor Ted Postol: Patriot Missile Capabilities”; Deep Dive; June 22, 2026;    • MIT Professsor Ted Postol: Patriot Missile…  

“US Forced out of Persian Gulf by Iran, Never to Return”; Deep Dive; August 16, 2026;    • US Forced out of Persian Gulf by Iran, Nev…  

“Bring Back the Destroyer Tender”; William Yale; Naval Proceedings; February 2025; https://www.usni.org/magazines/procee…

“General Dynamics Unveils AD(X) VLS-Reloading Destroyer Tender”; Carter Johnston; Naval News; January 28, 2026; https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/…

Related Tale: “US Navy Insanity in Japan”;    • US Navy Insanity in Japan