All U.S. armed services were placed on the highest level of alert, including Air Force combat squadrons.
A spokesman for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk, Va., said more ships would be deployed Tuesday night and Wednesday, including one or more amphibious assault ships, which carry up to 2,000 Marines each.
“We have aircraft flying protective missions all over the country,” said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday night.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Henry Shelton said, “I have no intention of discussing what comes next. But make no mistake about it, your armed forces are ready.”
The spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet added: “The carriers will be contributing to the air defense of Washington, D.C., and New York and will be available for other contingencies. They are responding to a significant threat.”
The vessels also were to provide support for on-shore operations, including medical assistance and security, he said.
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The carriers, each carrying 80 or more aircraft of all types, are the Norfolk-based USS George Washington and the USS John F. Kennedy, which was sent from Florida.
Also in the group are the guided-missile cruisers USS Leyte Gulf, USS Monterey, USS Hue City, USS Vella Gulf and USS Vicksburg, guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage and USS Ross, and the support ship USS Detroit.
The USNS Comfort, a hospital ship docked in Baltimore, was available if needed, he said.
Nuclear-powered and carrying more than 6,000 crew members each, the carriers normally are used to project American power and protect American lives, property and interests in global waters far from the United States.
A senior defense official told the Associated Press that the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which was due to come home from the Persian Gulf, was ordered to remain in the area indefinitely. A second carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, remains in the area as well, the official said.
Warships also were reportedly sent to West Coast sites considered vulnerable, including Seattle, home to the landmark 605-foot Space Needle and the 76-story Bank of America Tower, also called Columbia Tower, the tallest U.S. building west of the Mississippi River.
Officials at military sites across the country reported that only essential military personnel would be permitted on their bases. All unnecessary military flights were canceled, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command took steps to protect the military’s computer systems from hackers, a spokesman said.
NORAD also was on its highest alert.
“We have all of our air sovereignty aircraft–fighters, surveillance and other support aircraft–ready to respond,” NORAD said in a statement.