Iran Strikes Evacuate 1,500 Sailors to Florida Bases With Just Backpacks

Some came with a newborn, a toddler, a dog in a crate, and a single suitcase. Others had only the clothes on their backs. When Iranian missiles and drones struck the Navy's main base in Bahrain in late February, thousands of sailors and their families were told to grab what they could fit in a backpack and go.

The Navy confirmed that 1,500 sailors, family members, and several hundred pets have been relocated back to the United States from Naval Support Activity Bahrain since the attacks began Feb. 28, the opening day of U.S. military operations against Iran. Satellite imagery shows at least seven buildings in and around the base were struck between Feb. 28 and March 6.

MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa has been among the receiving hubs for returning flights. Some of those evacuees may have ties to Florida families and could be resettling within driving distance of the Treasure Coast.

NSA Bahrain, home of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, housed approximately 8,000 personnel before the conflict began. The base sits roughly 124 nautical miles from the Iranian coast — well within range of the ballistic missiles and drones that struck it repeatedly.

The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society has distributed $1 million to roughly 2,000 sailors and their families since evacuations began, primarily covering essentials and bridge loans while government reimbursement — which can take months — is processed, according to the group's chief operations officer, retired Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler.

"I saw one gal — she had a two-week-old and a two-year-old and a dog in a crate and a suitcase," Cutler said. "Now we're at the point where families are back and they're starting to ask the question: 'Well, what's next? Will we go back?'"

Community groups in Norfolk, Virginia — home to the world's largest naval base and the primary receiving point since mid-March — were called to donate toiletries and basic hygiene products for sailors arriving with nothing. The USO has been providing ongoing support.

The Navy released updated guidance April 1 covering hotel reimbursements and temporary relocations through Italy and Germany. Unresolved questions remain about the fate of cars and furniture left behind and whether sailors will return to the Middle East at all.

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