Watch: Hundreds of Troops Head to Middle East to Aid Air Defense of U.S. Forces

Roughly 900 U.S. troops have deployed or are getting ready to leave for the Middle East, the Pentagon said Thursday, as part of the U.S. surge [to provide air defense](https://ift.tt/uHbFCep) to U.S. forces who have come under attack in the region. The U.S.-based forces deploying to the Middle East are units attached to air defenses such as the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System, or Thaad, and Patriot surface-to-air missile system, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.