NPR: US evacuates 1,500 sailors from Bahrain after Iranian strikes

Hundreds of US sailors have been evacuated back to the United States from a key naval base in Bahrain following Iranian missile and drone attacks, NPR has learned. The evacuations also extended to other US military installations across the region, although details about those operations remain unclear.

Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, a central hub for maritime security operations in the Middle East, including the protection of commercial shipping routes. The island nation lies approximately 124 nautical miles from Iran, placing it well within range of Iranian missiles and drones.

Before the US launched strikes on Iran on February 28, around 8,000 personnel were stationed at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain. On the opening day of the war, the base was hit multiple times. Social media posts showed ballistic missiles and Iranian drones striking the installation, while satellite imagery from Planet indicated that at least seven buildings in and around the base were damaged between February 28 and March 6.

In response to an NPR inquiry, a US Navy spokesperson confirmed that 1,500 sailors, along with their families and several hundred pets, were relocated from NSA Bahrain back to the United States.

Many of the evacuated personnel have been arriving in Norfolk, Virginia — home to the world’s largest naval base — since mid-March. Aid organisations assisting military personnel say many sailors arrived with minimal belongings, prompting urgent calls for community support.

“The base was asking for donations of toiletries and different things for the sailors coming back, because they were coming back with nothing,” said Derrick Johnson, commander of American Legion Post 327 in Norfolk.

Local groups have stepped in to assist. The post hosted a spaghetti dinner for some of the returning sailors, according to vice commander Keith Shanesy.

“They literally told them, ‘Get what you can get in the backpack. You’ve got to go,’” he said. “They came with no uniforms, nothing. The three we met first, they came with the clothes on their back, what they could fit in that backpack.”

The Navy has been providing support services to those affected, including “crisis counselling, financial and legal assistance, relocation support, educational resources, coordination for child and youth programs,” according to Lt. Cmdr. Kara Handley.

Additional assistance has come from the USO, which has been helping sailors arriving in Norfolk from various locations across the Middle East, according to spokesperson David Carrier.

Meanwhile, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society has distributed approximately $1 million in aid to around 2,000 sailors and their families since the evacuations began, said the organisation’s chief operations officer, retired Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler.

By Tamilla Hasanova