← Boots on the Ground: TV Clips
Kellogg Maps Where U.S. Ground Troops Could Deploy
Keith Kellogg, retired Army lieutenant general, former assistant to President Trump. Fox News, Fox & Friends, March 24, 2026.
Fox News · posted 2026-03-24 · 6:13
Added to this site: September 27, 2026 · Transcribed: September 27, 2026
Original: youtube.com/watch?v=YKMQ27Eimv8 · IPFS QmbbQWxi1PcpSxXn8dgANZXsoFWMFNHcsdiWp84Sxsynqy
Also posted as: foxnews.com/video/6391527391112
What this video shows
Keith Kellogg is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who served as an assistant to President Trump and as his Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine. Before he speaks, the Fox & Friends host walks viewers through a map of the forces heading to the region: two aircraft carriers and two Marine Expeditionary Units of about 2,500 Marines each, on ships carrying Ospreys, armored vehicles, and amphibious assault craft. The host names the likely targets: Iranian islands in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane that carries much of the world's oil, including Kharg Island, the island off Iran's coast through which most of Iran's oil exports leave, plus Kish and Hormuz islands.
Kellogg says the two amphibious ready groups (Navy ships carrying a Marine unit with its own aircraft and helicopters) can "open up the straits out there and occupy that ground," and then he would send "maybe the 82nd Airborne division, or Rangers, or somebody like that to take Kharg Island," cutting off Iran's "economic lifeline." He says he believes in "putting boots on the ground, not necessarily into Iran, but taking Kharg Island" — even though Kharg Island is Iranian soil. He compares it to Rome putting its "legions on the ground," and brushes off the worry:
"I know you're talking about boots on the ground, and people rub their hands in a negative manner, or basically clutch their pearls, but the fact is, over time, over history, the only way you solve a solution is to put boots on the ground and control the environment."
He ends by calling for a new government in Iran: "get rid of the theocratic government." A former Trump adviser, on the country's most-watched morning show, laid out which American units should land on which pieces of Iran.
Where this fits: this clip is one of the TV clips calling for American boots on the ground in Iran. For the full story, what the public was told next to what was happening, see American Soldiers on the Ground in Iran — Videos.
Transcript
Machine transcription (apple-speechanalyzer · Source duration: 00:06:13 · Transcript covers: 00:06:13 ✓ full) made with Large File Bridge on September 27, 2026. It can mishear names and words, so check exact wording against the video before quoting it.
So the U.S. Senate is sending more troops to the Middle East, even while the talks are continuing through intermediaries. As the Strait of Hermuse remains effectively closed, and that's gotta change.
So what could actually change things, maybe put us in control of the straight? Let's take a look at what's on its way. First off, you got two carriers that are coming our direction. You got the 11th Marine Expeditiary Unit coming on this ship, about 2,500.
Marines are coming, and then you have the USS Tripoli and 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, both coming from Japan. And look at what they contain. They got ospreys, they got armored vehicles, amphibious assault chips to get them onto shore. Now, where could they be heading?
Well, if they're gonna see some contact, it's gonna be right here in the Strait. And some of the key islands, you hear a lot about Carg Island, but there's also Kish Island and Hermoz Island, all contain various different, I guess, Iranian units. And here's roughly what's in there. And with the Iranians seem to have assembled.
They got Rocco launchers on these islands, they got some submarines there. They got to be destroyed, obviously, unmanned surface vehicles, heavily armed speedboats. They got to be destroyed. They're the ones causing so much havoc, and potential havoc that keeps the Strait of Ramuz, pretty much closed.
And this is, essentially, what Kitch Island would do if we had control of that, and would have put us in the catbird seat, to be able to maybe reopen that straight once and for all, and give us the leverage back in that area. And of course, alleviate the glut of oil that just isn't going through. Yesterday, just three ships. We need about 100.
Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg joins us now. He served as former assistant to President Trump, and Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine. General, how would you characterize where we're at right now? And what do you think that our Marines could do when they get into theater?
Yeah, Brian, it's good to be with you. You brought up some really great points there on ground forces. Look, I'm a big believer right now. We just need to secure the strait of hormones.
And you can do that with two amphibious ready groups, Marine ready groups that are headed that way. They're self contained units. They've got aviation assets, they've got helicopter assets. They've got 2,500 Marines on each one of the ARGs, and they can open up the straits out there and occupy that ground.
Look, I'm a big believer in putting boots on the ground, not necessarily into Iran, but taking Carg Island and also taking this straight of a hormoose. Look, we kind of need to do it the way the Romans used to do it. You know, you need to put, you know, your legions on the ground to secure the territory and give them confidence that they can do it, that we can open up the straight. Look, I know there's risk involved.
There's always risk involved, but those kids, those young men and women, they understand the risk involved on taking both car and opening up the Strait of Ormus as well. So, they've got the ability to do it. The amphibious ready groups for the Marines. They can open up the lower half of the straight, do it.
And then I turn around to maybe the 82nd Air War division, or Rangers, or somebody like that to take Carg Island. I would be able to control the, basically, the oil outflow of Iran. And then when you start talking to Galaboff, who's the name that you hear being mentioned, who's a speaker of the house of Iran, that gives them more leverage to do it. You basically cut off their economic lifeline.
You know, President Trump saw that in 1988. When he mentioned he should take Carg Island. And he's the only president that's had the guts to be able to launch forces into the Gulf region, to take control of that. I mean, it controls not us.
It controls much of the economies of the Far East and also partially of Europe. And they've got responsibility as well. So when you talk about risk, you talk about when you take an island, you also become a target, they know where we are at, and they'll know how to get to us, and they could go for, try to get lucky ones. Would you go to that island with missile defense, with some type of drone defense?
Oh, absolutely. I mean, you take it out. I mean, the risk I'm talking about. No, talking about, do we go with...
When you've got to sell your sailors, ceremony, Marines. You understand that. But, general, do we go with the island? To be able to deploy some type of anti drone technology and some missile, some missile defense?
So when we get there, we have some protection. Oh, absolutely, but you have protection with the Arg itself, with the ships of the Arg that are there. Plus, you have the air support of the Arg, the U.S.
Marine Corps, that's got here. I have great confidence in our men and women in the military, and especially of the Marine Corps, that they're able to do that job. And I think it's a two part effort, though. I just don't think you can only open the straight, which can also go after a carg island, which is basically the economic lifeline.
See, I'm one of those believers that, I know you're talking about boots on the ground, and people rub their hands in a negative manner, or basically clutch their pearls, but the fact is, over time, over history, the only way you solve a solution is to put boots on the ground and control the environment. You can do certain things from the air, you can do certain things from the sea, but there's time you have to occupy land, like I said, or just like the Romans did. General, I think you agree that we can't leave there with the Iranians thinking, Okay, at any moment, we can grab the Strait of Ramuz, and we'll have ultimate leverage. We've already showed the world that.
Somehow, they got to be, uh, they have to disassociate themselves, disassociate themselves with that conclusion. And this is probably the only way to do it, when you think. Well, yeah, because, look, we've lived over 40 years with revolutionary guards. They're still gonna be in charge out there.
And there are an organization and a movement that has subdued the Iranian people over time. And I think they're just going to go back to the roots in five years or 10 years out there, just eliminate them. We have to have a different type of government, I believe, get rid of the theocratic government, put the mullets back in the mosques where they belong, and let some type of government run Iran. It's going, I'm not sure that Galaboff is the right person, but he's the one I'm going to be talking to, and give President Trump a lot of credit.
At least he's willing to talk to him. But he's got that heavy hand of the military right behind him. He's not afraid to use it. Hey, it's Will Kane.
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Last Updated: 2026-09-27