U.S. to Reduce Ships in Mideast Force

Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci has authorized a small reduction in the number of U.S. warships deployed in the Persian Gulf, including the withdrawal of the battleship Iowa, Pentagon officials said Monday.

The officials, who insisted on anonymity, said the reduction will begin around Feb. 18. The total of ships assigned to the Middle East force will change only slightly--dropping by three or four--but the mix of ships will be realigned, the sources said.

At least 30 U.S. ships are assigned to the region, 17 inside the Persian Gulf and the others in the northern Arabian Sea.

The Navy will allow the Iowa and the amphibious helicopter carrier Okinawa to steam for home without replacing them with ships of the same type, the sources said. A number of regular, one-for-one rotations will also take place over the next month, they said.

The aircraft carrier Midway will be replaced by the carrier Enterprise in the northern Arabian Sea, and four other ships now operating inside the gulf will be replaced, the sources said. The cruiser Turner and frigates Carr, Elrod and Gallery will be replaced by the cruiser Wainwright and frigates Williams, Roberts and Simpson.

The United States began building its naval presence in the area last summer, when President Reagan agreed to extend military protection to 11 Kuwaiti tankers placed under the American flag. The Navy’s 27th convoy operation got under way over the weekend.