Reflections on the 2017 McMullen Naval History Symposium

This year’s biennial McMullen Naval History Symposium, hosted by the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, was a total success. This world-class conference featured a plethora of fascinating panels on subjects ranging from contemporary Canadian naval policy to Julius Caesar’s appreciation of naval power. As always, with a conference of this scale involving hundreds of historians and participants, any one person is only able to see a fraction of the total panels, so individual experience does matter. The conference was not generally digitized, thus, reflections from the participants provide the only method for intersubjectively preserving the experience itself, and there have already been (David Morgan-Owen) several (Trent Hone) contributions (Matthew Eng) in that regard.

The conference was organized by the vigilant Commander Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong, one of the “New Young Turks” relentlessly in pursuit of greater historical appreciation amongst the cadets and midshipmen of the growing United States Navy, not to mention a senior editor with the all-star blog, War on the Rocks. Commander Armstrong also edited the “21st Century” Mahan and Sims volumes for the US Naval Institute Press. The major themes at this years conference were the First World War (naturally enough considering the centenary), global and imperial history, seapower in the Age of Sail, the Asian and the Pacific theatres, the Second World War, naval education, and the evolution of naval technology in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Day One: September 14, 2017

From left to right: Panel Chair John Beeler, Louis Halewood, Alex Howlett, and David Kohnen (photo credit, Tim Choi)

I was a presenter on one of the first panels, along with Louis Halewood and David Kohnen. My paper on the Royal Naval Air Service and the development of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) 1917-1918, examined the impact of changing administration during wartime, and the organizational learning that took place in an unprecedented and high-technology environment. Louis Halewood described his research on the development of the Anglo-American theory of geostrategy, raising the prospect of the pre-1914 “Imperial Superstate” concept, notably diagnosed by historians such as Carroll Quigley, and Ramsay Muir. Louis Halewood introduced the influential work of luminaries such as Hartford Mackinder, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Julian Corbett, Spencer Wilkinson, and Lord Milner, theorists of naval and military power, strategy and imperial defence, who would all reappear with regularity in the politically charged panels and discussions to follow. Ultimately, the unity of the Wilsonian Anglo-American alliance broke down in the interwar period, in no small measure due to the challenge to British naval supremacy from the United States, in the process destroying the Anglo-Japanese alliance, with profound implications for Britain’s role in the Second World War.

David Kohnen discussed his research on the Knox-Pye-King report, a significant paper published in the United States Naval Institute Proceedings in 1920, bringing to the US Navy (USN) the strategic focus which had been raised in the British school, in particular, by the pre-war historians John Laughton, Julian Corbett, and Captain Herbert Richmond. Captains Ernie King, Dudley Knox and William Pye had been influenced by the irresistible force of Admiral William Sims, one of the significant contributors to the argument in favour of introducing trans-Atlantic convoys, a deciding factor in the victory over the U-boats in 1917-1918. David Kohnen argued that the modern USN had a worrying predilection for defaulting to technological dogma, with the result of the Navy utilizing the acronym saturated language of the Defense Department to stress uncritical “warfighting” instead of historical engagement and peacekeeping as the basis for doctrine.

Right to left: Panel chair Caitlin Gale, presenters Anna Brinkman, David Morgan-Owen, Paul Ramsey, and commentator Andrew Lambert (photo credit, Tim Choi)

With turn of the century grand strategy on my mind, I moved to the panel specifically examining British foreign policy, with the first paper given by Anna Brinkman (of Imperial Entanglements fame), on Britain’s strategy for managing Spain during the Seven Years War, a complex subject that relied on the interaction between significant stakeholders, Britain and Spain’s differing conceptions of the law of the sea, and the emerging balance of power in Europe. David Morgan-Owen, the brains behind the Defence-in-Depth blog, next brought the discussion into the 19th and 20th centuries by examining Britain’s evolving European and global situation, a subject that hinges on the the sticky topic of imperial and homeland defence, explored further in David’s new book. The expansion of the Committee for Imperial Defence by Prime Minister Arthur Balfour in 1904 was a watershed moment, ultimately leading to the development of conflicting army and naval strategies during the government of Herbert Asquith. Lastly, Paul Ramsey examined Spenser Wilkinson’s debate with historian Julian Corbett about the proper relation of Britain’s foreign and military policy to national strategy, a historically and politically charged sparring played out in the popular press. Professor Andrew Lambert, who was the panel commentator, observed the intricate connections between the papers, with Corbett, a scholar of the Seven Years War and Russo-Japanese War, visualizing Britain’s naval role as a component of an integrated system that only made sense once the land dynamic, with a debt to Clausewitz and Jomini, was integrated.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson announces the winners of the CNO’s inaugural Naval History Essay Contest (photo credit, Tim Choi)

With this auspicious start, the conference was on a sound footing. I enjoyed lunch in the beautiful Bo Coppedge Room, at the Alumni Hall, where I had an enjoyable conversation with a young officer and naval scholar on the fascinating subjects of Athens versus Sparta, US Marine Corps culture, and the recent Graham Allison book, The Thucydides Trap, concerning the possibility of American conflict with China in the 21st century. I was impressed with the student’s insight, candor, and breadth of knowledge, all of which I found refreshing (as was the key-lime cheesecake). Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson then presented the awards to the winners of the inaugural Naval History Essay Contest, which promised to raise the bar for scholarly research amongst historians and practitioners alike.

After lunch we headed to the final panel for the first day, again focused on British naval policy in the 19th century. By this point the conference was beginning to resemble a choose your own type of adventure. This was both an advantage and disadvantage of the conference’s scale and international reach. Breaking out of my own area of interest was certainly possible, with simultaneous panels taking place on American, South American, and Second World War naval history, all of which would have been fascinating to attend, if not especially related to my research focus. The conference organizers did the attendees a service by arranging the panels in such a manner that overlap was minimal and it was a fairly straightforward process to figure out which panel was the best choice for my own preferences.

This panel was chaired by John Mitcham, and the first paper was presented by John Beeler, the editor of the Navy Record Society’s Milne papers, on the subject of the Liberal party’s naval policy during the late 19th century. Beeler, who literally wrote the book on the subject, argued that the questionable choices of the Liberal party in terms of naval policy were an indication of a lack of clear strategic thinking, compared to Salisbury’s vision. The nuances of the political situation was emphasized by Peter Keeling, who followed this thread by specifically expanding on the Liberal party’s 1889 Naval Defence Act with original research that examined who voted for and against the Act, and why. Presenting the last paper of the day, Rebecca Matzke, in a fascinating paper reminiscent of the work of Michael Neiberg, discussed the efforts of British propagandists to influence American public perception of the Royal Navy’s war effort, in particular, as it related to the Royal Navy’s blockade and Germany’s counter-blockade (the unrestricted U-boat campaign). Taken together, this panel explored the interrelation of optics, how public support is galvanized by policymakers and NGOs, and the realities of budgetary and geostrategic constraints, firmly recognizing that military policy is never formed in a vacuum, and more often than not, is the result of a complex patchwork of influence.

James Goldrick delivers the 2017 McMullen Sea Power address in Mahan Hall, (photo credit, Tim Choi)

Thus we adjourned for day one. The next event was the McMullen Sea Power address to be held later that evening in the appropriately named Mahan Hall. Taking advantage of the warm evening air while moving between buildings, I stopped the always approachable James Goldrick for a brief discussion that touched on wide-ranging concepts such as Britain’s anti-submarine defence in the First World War, Germany’s strategic bombing campaigns in two world wars, and the origins of aircraft carrier strike doctrine. I was impressed as always by Professor Goldrick’s erudition. In this spirit of historical reflection, the conference participants made their way over to the fantastic US Naval Academy Museum. After touring amongst the excellent warship models and artifact displays, discussing defence policy with friends, I was stunned into a moment of clarity by news which spread like fire between the attendees that North Korea had launched yet another long-range missile, dramatically bringing home the importance of the subjects we had discussed, in otherwise academic detachment, throughout the day.

Not much more than an hour later I was sitting on the balcony of Mahan Hall watching Rear-Admiral (retired) Goldrick, Royal Australian Navy, deliver the formal 2017 Sea Power address. Professor Goldrick delivered his keynote directly to the young midshipmen sitting across from me on both wings of the balcony, and strove to reconcile the need for thorough professionalism within military education, transcending technological determinism, while also avoiding the other end of the spectrum, ivory tower detachment, a synthesis rare enough amongst long-time scholars yet also essential to the future of service culture: the next generation of young scholar-officers.

Day Two: September 15, 2017

From left to right: Trent Hone, Wes Hammond, and John Miller, USN.

With three excellent panels on Anglo-American and imperial naval history behind me, I decided to start off day two on a slightly different tact. There would be four panels to see, and I felt it was time to broaden the discussion by revisiting some areas of interest from my previous academic work. Easing into things I visited the panel highlighting some of the winners of the CNO’s essay contest, starting with Trent Hone’s analysis of operational learning by the USN at Guadalcanal in 1942. Hone argued that the Navy, with a strong foundation in historical education and doctrine, derived from the inter-war period and First World War, was well situated to adapt to operational disasters such as the Battle of Savo Island, enabling the Navy to reverse-course and ultimately out think the Imperial Japanese Navy. Lieutenant John Miller then read his case-study analysis of training failure, notably looking at the USS Stark, USS Panay, and USS Chesapeake incidents, concluding that readiness can only be achieved by a thorough understanding of not only ship and crew capability, but also, significantly, environmental awareness, the multifaceted elements of which can only be mastered through carefully cultivated experience and preparation, frequently missing in a high-tempo, rapid deployment situation. Wes Hammond then expanded on this subject by observing the importance of mobile basing, stressing the element of fleet logistics, repair and salvage, upon which all other elements are reliant. An important theme uniting these papers, explored in the panel discussion, was the recognition that contemporary naval affairs are defined by questions with historical antecedents. The notion of having, “been here before” was startling, and a clear reminder of the importance of historical investigation prior to framing naval policy.

From left to right: Dr. Nicholas Lambert, Alan Anderson, James Smith and G. H. Bennet

The fifth panel was chaired by the Naval Academy’s own Dr. Nicholas Lambert and featured papers by G. H. Bennet, Alan Anderson and James Smith. This panel took a sweeping look at the Admiralty as a political and educational organization in the 20th century. Plymouth University’s Bennet presented on the unique subject of ship and naval station libraries, a critical component in naval education that at first glance might appear parochial, yet, like many of the papers presented, once explored in detail provided rich insight. Bennet’s research explored the organic knowledge networks that developed aboard ships as crew and officers traded and circulated books, while providing a warning evidenced by the decline of these networks during the transformation of the Royal Navy as budgets tightened in the 20th century. Alan Anderson followed up by examining the seemingly bizarre decision of the Admiralty to promulgate the Declaration of London in 1909, and the implications this would have for Britain’s blockade strategy in 1914. Anderson, who has been critical of Nicholas Lambert’s work on British blockade theory, argued that in fact the Admiralty gained significant concessions from the Declaration, notably including affirmations on the illegality of shipping “absolute contraband” in times of war, while simultaneously shoring up neutral shipping rights, essential components of the Royal Navy’s historical mission as safeguard of the seas. James Smith (of the Seapower Thinker blog) built upon these papers with his criticism of the introduction of the Ministry of Defence by the Earl Mountbatten, who was Chief of the Defence staff for six years, starting in July 1959. Smith argued that Mountbatten’s personal ambitions led him to undermine Britain’s traditional maritime focus, relegating the senior service to equality with the RAF and Army, thus stripping the Navy of its institutional power, which had been carefully built up over hundreds of years.

The Battle of Virginia Capes, 1781

Controversy continued to abound in the two finals panels, both of which I attended out of interest. The first was focused on the Battle of Virginia Capes, 5 September 1781, and second on Japanese naval policy in the 20th century. This was a trip back in time for me, as I had previously written my Masters thesis on the culminating naval battle of the American Revolution, as well as my undergraduate thesis on the only decisive naval battle of the ironclad age, the Battle of Tsushima, 27 May 1905. The first of these panels was known colloquially as the Naval War College panel, featuring papers drawn entirely from that fine institution. Chaired by the College’s John Hattendorf, James Holmes presented the first paper, an insightful strategic analysis of Britain’s naval policy during the Revolutionary War. Holmes argued that Admiralty decision-making ultimately led to the abandonment of the American colonies in favour of protecting the more profitable imperial territories in the Caribbean and India, and seen from the perspective of grand strategy, was reflective of the concept of “antifragility” which helped to explain the Admiralty’s thinking. Holmes provided a broad framework that was then detailed by Jim McIntyre’s paper, examining the egodocuments of Hessian mercenary Johann Ewald, who witnessed the siege of Yorktown. The presentation of Stanley Carpenter flowed naturally from this point, providing a thorough analysis of the Royal Navy’s tactics at the Battle of the Capes itself, with particular attention to the Graves-Hood controversy that emerged. I was pleased to see, eight years after completing my thesis on the subject, Lord Hood receiving the criticism he rightly deserves for failing to bring battle decisively against the Comte de Grasse’s fleet when ordered so by Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves. The discussion after this panel was particularly insightful, with John Hattendorf moderating a lively debate about the vagaries of timing, strategic movements, and the many “mistakes” made, for example, by Lord Cornwallis, who should have known better than to allow his Carolina offensive to become locked up in a position from which the only possible escape was by sea.

Dr. Alessio Patalano presenting on Japan’s Cold War submarine policy, (photo credit: Tim Choi)

The final panel I attended was presented by Andrew Blackley, covering the lessons of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5, in particular the Battle of the Yalu, followed by presentations from Masashi Kurarni, Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, looking at the Japanese contribution to the Mediterranean in 1917, and finally, by Alessio Patalano, who introduced the Self Defense Force’s submarine policy during the early Cold War. Andrew Blackley argued that Japan’s naval doctrine of rapid-fire close attack proved decisive in two major naval wars, indeed, demonstrating significant flexibility when faced with technical faults or warship losses. Flexibility was further indicated by Masashi Kurarni’s paper, showcasing Japan’s significant international alliance contribution to the anti-submarine war in 1917-1918, providing insight into the under-examined U-boat campaign in the Mediterranean. In keeping with these themes, Alessio Patalano presented the final paper, kindly aware of his duty to move quickly prior to the conference’s conclusion. Patalano observed that Japan’s strategy of core-competency paid dividends when the submarine began to take on a more significant role in Japan’s defence planning. The JMSDF was able to retain capability despite political, budgetary, and strategic transformation on an unprecedented scale.

The conference concluded back at the official symposium hotel where the 2017 Knox Awards Banquet was held, during which Dr. Edward J. Marolda, Commander Paul Stillwell and Dr. Jon T. Sumida were presented with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their stellar and dedicated contributions to naval history.

In conclusion, I was struck by the inspiring collegiality of this professional, academic conference. It serves the historians well to leave their monk-like confines to engage with the free-flow of ideas that historical symposiums inculcate. Between the brilliant and inspiring papers it was a real pleasure to be included in debate that frequently involved world-class subject experts and naval practitioners. In short, this was a transformative experience I highly recommend to anyone considering attending the next Symposium in 2019.

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve: The Air Campaign, Effectiveness, Part III

Logo for the Global Counter ISIL Defence Ministerial, held in Washington D.C., 20 July 2016.[i]

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve: The Air Campaign, Effectiveness, Part III

CENTCOM’s CJTF-OIR mission is now entering the second year since its inception in August 2014. It has been almost six months since the United States and its coalition partners began transitioning to the expanded phase of the CJTF-OIR mission. April to October 2016 witnessed a general expansion of the Global Coalition’s air campaign, complemented by relentless diplomatic pressure to bolster the Coalition’s political support and capabilities. Turkish ground forces intervened in August to prevent the Kurdish occupation of Manbij, and in September Russia accelerated its support for the Syrian regime forces battling in Aleppo. The April – October period ended with the Coalition preparing for its final series of operations against Raqqa and Mosul.

Diplomacy: Strengthening the Commitment, Two Years of Progress

 

US President Barack Obama speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on 18 April 2016. Control between the Russian and Coalition partners remained both complicated and dangerous, and was not always conducted with mutual satisfaction.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg flies by helicopter to Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 Flagship, Bonn, 21 April 2016.[ii] NATO’s role in the Coalition remained hugely important, especially in the naval, air and training roles, although the United States continued to shoulder the majority of airstrikes and ground personnel.

Command reshuffling continued throughout the April – October period. On 21 April, Major General Peter E. Gersten, the deputy commander, operations and intelligence for the CJTF-OIR and 9^th Air Expeditionary Task Force, was moved to the Secretary of Air Force’s office at the Pentagon as deputy assistant for programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller,[iii] continuing a trend seen throughout 2016 of Iraq and Afghanistan senior commanders moving between and into Washington posts.

Vice President Joseph Biden boards a C-17 aircraft after concluding his visit to Baghdad on April 28.[iv] Biden’s surprise visit was meant to impress the importance of the Coalition’s long-term Mosul strategy; the recapture of ISIL’s Iraq capital is one of President Obama’s year end goals.

In Hannover, US President Barack Obama met with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron; the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, President of France, Francois Hollande and Matto Renzi, the Prime Minister of Italy. 25 April 2016. Europe’s commitment to the counter-ISIL mission remained steadfast despite a number of ISIS terrorist attacks on European soil.

On April 28, Lt. General Thomas Waldhauser, formerly the director joint forces development at the Pentagon (J-7, Joint Staff HQ, USMC)[v], was promoted full general and appointed the commander, US Forces, AFRICOM.[vi] The Africa Command played an important role in the expanded counter-ISIL mission: several high profile strikes were carried out in Libya.

On 2 May, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that Norway had agreed to provide special forces to Jordan to assist in the training of Syrian Sunni fighters. The coalition continued to train “vetted” Syrian fighters. Norway also agreed to send a special medical team directly to the combat areas of northern Iraq.[vii] Carter personally thanked Norway’s Defence Minister, Ine Eriksen Soreide for her assistance in securing Norway’s commitment to the ongoing mission. Carter planned to meet with Defence Minister Soreide in Stuttgart for a CJTF ministers meeting happening later that week.

On 4 May Air Force Lieutenant General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the deputy commander USAF Central Command, Southwest Asia, became deputy commander, US Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base.[viii] That same day, Ash Carter met with the Danish Defense Minister, Peter Christensen, at the Stuttgart anti-ISIL defence ministerial. Christensen pledged to commit Danish forces to the full spectrum of military operations in Iraq and Syria.[ix]

On 11 May, Elissa Slotkin, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, and Joint Staff Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, Lt. General Kenneth F. McKenzie, held a video-conference with their Russian MOD counterparts to recommit to the US-Russia memorandum of understanding on flight restrictions for Syria., the first of many teleconferences for the period.[x] The Russia-US memorandum would become especially significant towards the end of September with the collapse of the ceasefire agreement, and the renewed Russian air campaign against Aleppo.

On 13 May, US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter announced that Belgium would commit air assets (F-16s) to Syria as part of the counter-ISIL mission. Carter commended Prime Minister Charles Michel and Defence Minister Steven Vadeput for their support.[xi]

Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Curtis Scaparrotti (US Army), and General John W. Nicholson, commander Operation Resolute Support (Afghanistan), at the Meetings of the Chiefs of Defence, in Brussels, 18 May. The interplay between Afghanistan, NATO, and the CJTF-OIR was maintained at the highest level, yet remained only one of the several security challenges facing the US and NATO. Other areas of concern were Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

18 May 2016, General Joseph F. Dunford (USMC) meeting with Vice Admiral John N. Christenson, the US Military Representative to NATO, at the 175^th session of the Meetings of the Chiefs of the Defence at NATO HQ, Brussels.[xii] Dunford, along with Secretary Carter, were instrumental in pushing for US troop increases to the CJTF.

On 18 May, Secretary Carter met with Qatar’s defence minister, Minister of State for Defence Affairs Khalid al-Attiyah, and they discussed mutual security, including the counter-ISIL missions.[xiii]

US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg prior to the US-NATO bilateral meeting in Brussels on May 19.[xiv] Stoltenberg and Kerry conducted nearly round-the-clock global diplomacy to keep the Coalition on mission, while building bridges for ceasefire negotiations in Syria, but also keeping the broader strategic perspective in mind.

On 24 May, the US DOD announced that Brigadier Karen H. Gibson, deputy commanding general Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, US Army Cyber Command, had been promoted to Director of Intelligence, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, based in Kuwait.[xv] That same day, Brigadier General G. Kaiser was made commander, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. These appointments reflected a long-standing trend of moving intelligence and special forces personnel to CJTF and Afghanistan. Cyber, intelligence, training and battle-space control only increased in significance as the air campaign and ISF training operations expanded during the summer.

US President Obama photographed here taking notes before the G7 leaders working lunch in Shima City, Japan, 26 May 2016. Russia had been evicted from the G8 following the March 2014 invasion of Crimea. Along with Secretary Kerry, with only half a year left in office, President Obama maintained focus on the counter-ISIL mission and Afghanistan, the two wars that had not ended during his eight years as President.

June 2, Graduates of the USAF Academy Colorado Springs celebrate. President Obama congratulates graduate in the background.[xvi]

On June 3, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, during his visit to Singapore, met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the two discussed countering terrorism, including ISIL, as well as joint air operations in the Asia-Pacific. Carter thanked the Prime Minister for his aggressive stance on counter-ISIL and anti-piracy (Gulf of Aden) missions.[xvii] The coalition relied on smaller partners and regional actors to handle specific tasks, often outside the main theatre of operations.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meeting with French President Francois Hollande on 3 June 2016.[xviii]

On 3 June Army Command Sgt. Major William F. Thetford, command senior enlisted leader for US Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, replaced Army Command Sgt. Major Christopher K. Greca as command senior enlisted advisor for CENTCOM, MacDill AFB.[xix]

On 8 June, US DOD Secretary Ash Carter and Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work held a meeting with Sweden’s Minister of Defense, Peter Hultqvist. Discussion topics included Russian aggression and expanding the counter-ISIL mission. Bob Work later met with the Defense Minister of Montenegro, Milica Pejanovic-Djuisic, thanking the minister for their commitment to Afghanistan.[xx] Also on June 8, Brigadier General Daniel R. Walrath, deputy commanding general (maneuver) 1^st Armored Division; and commander Combined Joint Operations Center/Army Forces-Jordan, Operation Inherent Resolve, Jordan, was moved to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, US Army, Washington DC.[xxi]

ISW European situation map, showing ISIL attacks between March 25 and July 15, 2016. Turkey’s greater involvement in the Coalition drew a number of ISIL backed attacks.

On 10 June, Brigadier General Aaron M. Prupas, the deputy director of intelligence, US Forces – Afghanistan, also assistant deputy of staff of intelligence to NATO HQ, Operation Resolute Support, was made the director (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance strategy, plans, policy, and force development) CENTCOM, Kabul, Afghanistan, under the Deputy Chief of Staff (ISR), USAF HQ at the Pentagon.[xxii] Brigadier General Aaron replaced Major General Linda R. Urrutia-Varhall who became the director (operations) and the military deputy at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Virginia.

            President Obama at the Department of Finance to give a statement on the Orlando shootings (12 June 2016), following a National Security Council meeting on June 14, 2016. James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, is standing in front of the camera. The Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew are to his left.[xxiii] .[xxiv]

14 June: NATO Defense Ministers meet in Brussels. US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter meets with Pedro Morenes Eluate, the Spanish Secretary of Defense , and Jeab-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Defense for France.[xxv] Carter also met with Michael Fallon, Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence.[xxvi] Accelerating the ISIL campaign was discussed by all parties. Later, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Fikri Isik, the Turkish Minister of Defense. Carter emphasized Turkey’s critical role in the Counter-ISIL Coalition. Carter also thanked the Minister for his support in the ongoing refugee crisis, and in his commitment to Afghan security.[xxvii] Carter also met with the Secretary of State for the Defence of France, Jean-Yves le Drian.[xxviii]

The next day, June 15, Carter met with General Stepan Poltorak, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, and confirmed the US and NATO commitment to Ukrainian security, including US non-recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014.[xxix] On 16 June, Secretary Carter met with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman. Carter and bin Salman discussed Saudi Arabia’s important role in the counter-ISIL mission, as well as the Saudi operations to counter Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in Yemen.[xxx]

Afghanistan situation map for June 30, 2016.[xxxi] ISW map. The long war entered its 15^th year in October 2016.

On 17 June, the US Department of Defense released its Afghanistan situation report, “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan” covering the period December 2015 to May 2016.[xxxii] The report discussed the successes of the counter-ISIL mission in Afghanistan (Islamic State – Khorasan), as well as the ongoing NATO Operation Resolute Support and US led Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The report, significantly, noted that insurgent violence has led to increased levels of civilian and Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) casualties. The report also highlighted ongoing capability gaps in the ANDSF (although noting that Afghanistan’s aerial capability had increased three times from its 2015 level thanks to the delivering of ground attack aircraft and helicopters), and observed that while the NATO commitment continues to hover around the 7,000 soldier level, the US was significantly short of its 9,800 troop level establishment during the report period. US troop level is expected to fall to 5,500 by January 2017.

            A video-conference was held between Russian and US DOD personnel on 18 June regarding Russian airstrikes carried out on June 16 that targeted At-Tanf in Syria, where US backed Syrian opposition and counter-ISIL forces were stationed.[xxxiii] At the Pentagon, on 20 June, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Minister of Defense. They discussed regional security concerns, as well as Lieberman’s planned visit to Fort Worth, Texas, where he would see the F-35 JSF production line (Israel will be the first foreign country to receive F-35s).[xxxiv] That same day, Carter issued a statement applauding Polish Minister of National Defense Macierewicz’s decision to deploy 60 special operations forces to Iraq, as well as commit four F-16s to Kuwait for reconnaissance missions.[xxxv] Likewise, Carter issued another statement, also 20 June, thanking Gerry Brownlee, the Minister of Defense of New Zealand, for his commitment to the training mission in Iraq through November 2018.[xxxvi]

            The next day, 21 June, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work met with the Dutch Minister of Defense Secretary-General Wim Geerts at the Pentagon, where the two discussed Europe and the counter-ISIL campaign.[xxxvii] On 24 June Ash Carter spoke by telephone with UK State Secretary for Defense Michael Fallon: they discussed the ongoing counter-ISIL mission and US-UK commitment to NATO.[xxxviii]

US Secretary of State meets with NATO Secretary General for bilateral talks on 27 June 2016, in Brussels.[xxxix] The same day US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter issued a statement congratulating Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi for the progress made securing Fallujah from ISIL control.[xl]

June 29, 2016: North American leaders summit working lunch at the National Gallery in Ottawa, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto. US Secretary of State John Kerry sits to Obama’s right and National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice is to his left.[xli] Canada’s role in the Global Coalition remains complex, with the Liberal government committing 168 special operations forces to Iraq, while continuing to fly reconnaissance and refueling missions.

On June 28 there was a suicide bombing attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.[xlii] Secretary Carter called Turkish Minister of Defense Fikri Isik to express his condolences.[xliii]

US President Obama discusses a statement on Afghanistan with Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, July 6, 2016.[xliv]

 

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow meets with the Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Mohamed Ahmed Albowardi Alfalacy, of the United Arab Emirates, 6 July 2016[xlv] The UAE plays a crucial role in the coalition, providing basing and support for US airstrikes, while also committing to the all important training mission.

8 July 2016, the NATO Summit in Warsaw. Secretary General Stoltenberg visits with NATO Allied Ground Surveillance personnel and their Global Hawk UAV.[xlvi]

Jens Stoltenberg meets with US President Barack Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Warsaw on 8 July 2016.[xlvii] Operation Resolute Support was the major subject of discussion, with commitments made to sustain the operation through the conclusion of 2016, with financial commitments made to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces through the 2020 timeframe. It was hoped Afghanistan would be capable of financial responsibility for its security forces by the end of 2024 (the conclusion of the “Transformation Decade” as arranged at the 2012 NATO Chicago Summit).

Enemy attacks in Afghanistan, January 2014 to May 2016. The figures indicate an overall decline in IED and mine fatalities, but an increase in direct actions.

8 July 2016, Family Portrait of NATO heads of state, Warsaw Summit.[xlviii] Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom smiles, despite having lost the Brexit Referendum in June. He was to subsequently to resign on July 13. A week after this picture was taken, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, standing in front of Chancellor Merkel, would survive the coup attempt of July 15, 2016.

9 July 2016, Warsaw: Barack Obama shakes hands with Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah and Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the President of Afghanistan. Ash Carter is on the left and Jens Stoltenberg on the right.[xlix] Secretary Carter later met with Turkey’s Defense Minister, Fikri Isik, expressing uniformity on the anti-ISIL mission, and looked forward to meeting again in Washington DC for the July 20-21 Counter-ISIL Defense Ministerial.[l] Carter then left for Baghdad, arriving July 11.

US Defense Secretary Carter met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi in Baghdad shortly after arriving on 11 July. At this meeting Carter highlighted the success achieved by capture the Qayyarah West airfield. Carter announced that the US intended to deploy another 560 troops to Iraq to build on momentum leading up to the planned assault on Mosul, an arrangement that had been made with CJTF-OIR commander Lt. General Sean MacFarland.[li] Mosul, the plan went, would be attacked from both north and south: in the north by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and in the south by Iraqi Security Forces. Manbij, the strategic hub along the Turkish border between Iraq and Syria, was now surrounded and under intensive aerial bombardment.

July 15, 2016, President Obama meets with Gerard Araud, French Ambassador to the US, following the ISIS terrorist attack in Nice. US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian to offer his condolences.[lii]

On 19 July US Secretary Carter called Turkey’s Fikri Isik to reiterate his support for the democratically elected government, following the 15 July 2016 coup attempt.[liii]

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Global Coalition to Counter-ISIL Defence Ministerial, chaired by US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter, 20 July 2016, at Joint Base Andrews, outside Washington D.C.[liv] Carter later spoke with French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian. Carter expressed gratitude for the decision to deploy France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to support the CJTF.[lv] Carter also met with the Defense Ministers from Saudi Arabia and Australia, both involved in the training mission in Iraq.

French (and USN and German) naval forces operating against ISIL.

On 26 July the next video-conference between Russian MOD and US DOD personnel took place.[lvi] On 28 July Brigadier General Terrence J. McKenrick, the commanding general, Brigade Modernization Command, Army Capabilities Integration Center, US Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Bliss, Texas, was promoted to deputy commanding general, US Army Central/Third Army, Kuwait.[lvii]

August 2, 2016. President Obama greets Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore on the White House south lawn. The Prime Minister also met with Secretary Carter for a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

On 2 August Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Eric D. Neilsen, was moved from the Joint Special Operations Air Component – Central, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, to become the senior enlisted leader for NATO Special Operations Forces, Supreme HQ Allied Powers Europe, Mons, Belgium; highlighting the close integration between CTJF and NATO special operations.[lviii]

Russian airstrikes in Syria, July 28 to August 20, 2016. Institute for the Study of War map.[lix]

September 7, 2016: Secretary Carter met with Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman for a bilateral meeting during the London UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial. They discussed regional security and ISIL.[lx] Carter then met with Fikri Isik, Turkey’s Minister of Defense, on September 8. Carter reaffirmed his commitment to Turkey’s security, and assured the minister of US support for anti-ISIL operations along the Turkish border.[lxi]

ISW situation map for ISIL activity in Turkey the year of 2015-2016.[lxii]

On 16 September, the US President’s National Security Council met. It was noted that at this time in the campaign, 50% of Iraq territory once controlled by ISIL had been recaptured, and that ISIL in Syria was now effectively cut off from the outside world.[lxiii]

The next video-conference between US DOD and Russian MOD liaisons took place on September 14, with another conference held on 22 September following the Russian or Syrian regime airstrikes on a UN aid convoy, disrupting the weeklong ceasefire agreement before the end of September.[lxiv]

September 20: US President Barack Obama before delivering his final presidential address at the UN General Assembly.[lxv]

            Stoltenberg attending the UN General Assembly session on 20 September 2016, during his visit to New York.[lxvi]

             On 22 September, Secretary Ash Carter met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Pentagon. They discussed US and Australian support for the counter-ISIL mission and the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan, as well as regional security concerns, the recent North Korean nuclear test, and naval developments in the Asia-Pacific.[lxvii]

            Also on 22 September, the United Kingdom’s Michael Fallon met with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who expressed gratitude for the UK’s commitment to the coalition training mission.

            NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a seminar at the Kennedy School, Harvard, during his visit to the United States, 23 September 2016. NATO and the Coalition took great lengths to explain the importance of the mission to often skeptical populations; the Combined Joint Task Force continued to maintain youtube and twitter pages filled with regular updates on airstrikes and other coalition movements.

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dunford and Secretary Ash Carter state that the coalition has gained momentum in battling ISIL in Syria, September 24, 2016.[lxviii] On September 28, Carter announced that an additional 600 US soldiers were being committed to Iraq, in anticipation of the Mosul offensive.[lxix]

19 September. CJTF-OIR commander Lt. General Townsend meets US Army Secretary Eric Fanning in Baghdad at the beginning of the Secretary’s tour of US forces in Iraq.

Operations in Transition: Escalation

            The summer of 2016 was a transitional period for the CJTF: while Ramadi had been recaptured at the end of 2015, and Hit was soon to follow (April 2016), with the Mosul – Raqqa corridor squeezed at Sinjar, although Fallujah was still under ISIL control. Much of the air campaign over the past five months was focused on the degrading of ISIL forces in preparation for the expected showdown over the ISIL capitals in Syria and Iraq.

 

Two French Mirage 2000Ds refuel over Iraq, April 8, 2016.

In the target information section of the CJTF-OIR strike reports, it is not unusual to see one strike credited with destroying dozens of ISIL fuel trucks, or destroying a cluster of local targets, from tunnels, bridges, rocket vehicles, VIEDs, IEDs and explosives factories, many boats and river craft, medium and heavy machine gun positions, bunkers, communications, HQ, and training facilities, currency mints, oil derricks, pump jacks, well heads, technicals, tactical vehicles, bulldozers, rear-end loaders, recoilless rifles, artillery pieces, mortars, weapons caches, fighting entrenchments, ISIL camera positions, sniper positions, multistory buildings, entire House Borne IEDs (HBIEDs), and some particularly interesting targets such as battle tanks and at least one ISIL controlled drone. A typical example, representative of the dozens of strikes conducted during any given day, are six strikes executed near Qayyarah, on April 5, 2016, destroying an ISIL tactical unit, weapons storage facility, four mortar firing positions, a supply cache, a VBIED production facility, and 13 staging areas.

Table showing the monthly weapon release figures for one year of the war, February 2015 – 2016. The low figures in the spring of 2015 coincide with the withdrawal of the B-1B bombers for modifications, and subsequent uptick with the arrival of B-52s.[lxx]

Table showing breakdown of CJTF-OIR strike mission targets for April 2016.[lxxi] Mosul was the most heavily attacked, receiving 137 strikes, nearly twice as many as Mar’a in Syrian, with 70 strikes. Fallujah, Hit and Qayyarah received more than 50 strikes each.

            A huge series of strikes were carried out against ISIL controlled refinery assets near Mosul on 14 and 15 April 2016.[lxxii]

16 April: airstrikes target a VBEID and ISIL troop barracks near Al Hawl.[lxxiii]

18 April: coalition strikes destroy ISIL explosives and IED factories at Qayyarah[lxxiv]

Coalition strikes on April 24, targeting ISIL munitions factories in Fallujah and Sultan Abdallah, fighting positions around Manbij were also attacked.[lxxv] More ISIL infantry positions were engaged outside Fallujah on 25 April.[lxxvi]

Qayyarah was targeted on 27 April, as was Al Huwayjah.[lxxvii] An HQ facility at Washiyah, Syria, was also destroyed.

On 28 April an ISIL fueling station outside Mosul was destroyed.[lxxviii] Mar’a was also targeted.[lxxix]

An ISIL VBIED factory at Al Qam was destroyed on 29 April. Additional VBIEDs were targeted near Kirkuk.[lxxx]

On 4 May 2016, the US Defense Department announced that Special Warfare Operator 1^st Class, Charles H. Keating, a US Navy SEAL, had been killed in combat at Tall Usquf Iraq, May 3.[lxxxi] On 8 May, the DoD announced that 1^st Lt. David A. Bauders of Seattle Washington, 176^th Engineer Company, had been killed while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, on 6 May at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq due to a non-combat related incident.[lxxxii]

Weapons facilities at Qayyarah were bombed on May 5.[lxxxiii]

            On 10 May US Special Operations Command carried out a hostage rescue raid in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, freeing Ali Haider Gilani, son of Pakistant’s former Prime Minister, had been held captive for three years by Al Qaeda.[lxxxiv]

19 May: Snipers in Ar Rutbah are targeted.[lxxxv]

On 20 May, the ISIS Syrian capital at Ar Raqqah was hit, a huge weapons cache destroyed along with an oil derrick.[lxxxvi] A mortar position at Mar’a was targeted on May 21. Another weapons cache was destroyed on May 22, again near Mar’a.[lxxxvii] Also on 21 May, the US killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Mansour in an airstrike in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Mansour had been the Taliban leader since July 2015. He was succeeded by Mullah Haybatullah Akhundzada.

On 24 May a VBIED was destroyed at Fallujah.[lxxxviii] PGM circled.

An ISIL HQ building in Mosul was destroyed on 25 May.[lxxxix]

On 23 May, the US DOD announced that Taliban leader Mullah Mansur had been killed in an airstrike carried out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on 21 May.[xc] On 28 May, Gunner’s Mate Seaman Connor Alan McQuagge, a 19 yearold from Utah, died of a non-combat related injury while underway in the Red Sea, aboard USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.[xci]

On 27 May the US conducted an airstrike against Abdullahi Haji Da’ud, an al-Shabaab commander in south-central Somalia. Da’ud was responsible for coordinating militia operations between Somalia, Kenya and Uganda, and had been head of Amniyat, the al-Shabaab intelligence branch.[xcii]

Another large ISIL VBIED was destroyed at Fallujah on 28 May.[xciii] PGM circled.

ISIL technical destroyed at Hit on 30 May.[xciv]

May 29, Iraq Shiite fighters fire artillery at ISIL controlled Fallujah.[xcv]

As of May 31 2016, 20,131 US military personnel had been wounded and 1,843 killed in Afghanistan since the start of the conflict in October 2001.

Strike data for June 2016. Manbij, along the strategic M4 route to Aleppo, received 32% of all strikes, over 276 of the 874 strikes conducted that month. Qayyarah accounted for 106 strikes, Mosul and Fallujah another 96 and 80 respectively.

On 6 June an ISIL oil tanker facility at Mosul was bombed.[xcvi] On 11 June a fuel weighing station at Qayyarah was destroyed as part of the mission to disrupt ISIL oil supplies.[xcvii] Mosul was bombed again on 14 June.

Another ISIL technical is destroyed near Mar’a, 18 June.[xcviii] An ISIL position is bombed, 21 June, near Mabij.[xcix]

ISIL technical destroyed near Manbij, 22 June.[c] PGM circled. That day the US DOD reported that Petty Officer 2^nd Class Andrew J. Clement, 38, had died on 21 June from non-combat injuries sustained while he was deployed to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.[ci]

On 25 June the US conducted strikes against two ISIL commanders near Mosul, killing both: Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, ISIL’s deputy minister of war (and former al Qaeda operative), and Hatim Talib al-Hamundi, ISIL military commander, Mosul.[cii]

On 26 June, Iraqi forces announced that Fallujah had been fully liberated, ISIS losses estimated at 2,500.[ciii] ISF Counter-Terrorism soldier drives through the streets of Fallujah.

An ISIL convoy destroyed by coalition airstrikes, June 29, 2016.[civ] An uparmoured dump truck was also destroyed at Abu Kamal the same day.[cv]

Fleeing ISIL vehicle about to be hit by airstrike (in red) outside Habbaniyah, Iraq, 29 June 2016.[cvi]

A building complex controlled by fighters is demolished on 30 June 2016 near Manbij. Manbij was the most heavily bombed target for June and August.[cvii]

Russian airstrikes in Syria between 18 June and 28 June, 2016. ISW map.[cviii]

Syrian Democratic Forces fighter watches coalition airstrike near Manbij, July 2016.[cix]

Iraqi Army Aviation M-28 Havoc attack helicopters annihilate an ISIL convoy fleeing Fallujah, July 2016.[cx] The helicopter attacking here is circled.

3 July 2016: ISIL vehicle destroyed near Manbij.[cxi]

ISIL controlled building are destroyed on 5 July 2016 near Manbij.[cxii]

ISIL VBIED moments before destruction by coalition airstrike, outside Bayji, 7 July 2016.[cxiii]

On 9 July, US Forces-Afghanistan killed Umar Khalifa in an airstrike. Khalifa was a leader of the Tariq Gidar Group of the Islamic Sate-Khorasan Province, and responsible for multiple high profile attacks in Pakistan.[cxiv]

11 July, ISIL artillery piece destroyed near Manbij. PGM circled.[cxv]

13 July 2016: more buildings targeted in Manbij.

Buildings in Manbij explode as they are targeted by CJTF-OIR airstrikes, 11 July.[cxvi]

Rubble in Manbij, 16 July 2016.

16 July 2016, B-52 refuels from KC-10 Extender, Iraq.[cxvii]

The US DOD announced that 1^st Lt. Anais A. Tobar, 25 years old, of Miami, Florida, had died on 18 July in Southwest Asia, in a non-combat related incident. 1^st Lt. Tobar had been supporting Operation Inherent Resolve when she was killed.[cxviii]

Fireball engulfs Manbij neighbourhood on 19 July 2016.[cxix]

A huge cloud of smoke spirals up from an airstrike on Manbij, 24 July 2016.[cxx] Further strikes were carried on 26 July.

Al Baghdadi was the subject of airstrikes on 25 July.[cxxi]

On July 26 US forces conducted an airstrike against ISIL-K in Afghanistan, targeting Hafiz Sayed Khan, killing him. Khan was an ISIL emire involved in recruiting and participating in attacks in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.[cxxii]

Fireball from coalition airstrike on Manbij, 27 July 2016.[cxxiii]

ISW map for late July 19-25, showing terrorist activity in Iraq.[cxxiv]

Lt. Col. Flando E. Jackson, USAF, died on 4 August in Southwest Asia from non-combat injuries sustained during support for Operation Inherent Resolve.[cxxv]

Battery C, 1^st Battalion, 320^th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force “Strike”, carries out a fire mission with their M777 howitzer in support of Iraqi Security Forces operating at Kara Soar Base, 7 August 2016.[cxxvi] Artillery fire missions are not counted in any of the coalition air campaign strike tallies, nor are the Russian or Syrian regime figures.

CJTF OIR strikes for August 2016. Manbij, close to the Turkish border, continued to be targeted, receiving 144 strikes, more than twice as many as Mosul (61) and more than three times as many as Qayyarah (49). Ar Raqqah, the Islamic State’s capital in Syria, was only struck 14 times, for 3% of all strikes. 522 strikes were conducted in August.

On 1 August the US conducted an airstrike against Sirte, Libya, stating that the airstrike had been requested by the Libyan government to counter ISIL forces.[cxxvii]

August 9: Coalition airstrikes destroy ISIL command and control node near Sultan Abdallah, Iraq.[cxxviii]

A terrorist attack was carried out in Southern Turkey on 10 August.[cxxix] On 14 August the DOD announced that Staff Sgt. Christopher A Wilbur, US Army, 36 years old, died from non-combat injuries on 12 August, in Kandahar, Afghanistan while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.[cxxx]

On 13 August, Syrian Democratic Forces announced that they had occupied Manbij.[cxxxi] On 15 August the US DOD announced the liberation of Manbij.[cxxxii]

On August 23^rd one US soldier, Staff Sgt. Matthew V. Thompson, 28 years old, of Irvine California, was killed and another wounded, along with 6 Afghan Security Forces soldiers in an IED blast in Helmand province.[cxxxiii]

Coalition airstrike destroys an ISIL VBIED factory near Mosul on 25 August.[cxxxiv]

Turkish APCs head towards Jarablus on August 25. Turkey began its armed intervention in the Syrian Civil War on 24 August, taking aim against both Kurdish and ISIL fighters.

The delicate diplomatic situation between Turkey and the Kurdish YPG forces in Manbij was redressed somewhat when Kurdish forces withdrew from Manbij on 25 August.[cxxxv]

On 30 August the US conducted an airstrike against Abu Muhammad Al-Adani, near Al Bab, Syria. Al-Adani, who was killed, was an ISIL spokesman and recruiter, responsible for organizing lone-wolf attacks.[cxxxvi] Another strike, carried out 7 September against Raqqa in Syria, killed Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad (“Dr. Wa’il), a senior ISIL leader, information minister, and a member of the Senior Shura Council. Wa’il was credited with overseeing production of the Islamic State’s gruesome propaganda videos.[cxxxvii]

The DOD announced that 1^st Lt. Jeffrey D. Cooper, 25 years old, had died September 10 in Kuwait from non-combat-related injuries.[cxxxviii] On September 9, US Air Force Chief of Staff, General David Goldein stated that the air campaign was gaining momentum.[cxxxix]

11 September 2016, Task Force “Strike”, 2^nd Brigade Combat Team, 101^st Airborne Division, trains with 15^th Iraqi Army Division soldiers during their advise and assist mission in support of CJTF-OIR in Kuwait.[cxl]

13 September, 7RAR (7^th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment) soldiers train with ISF at Taji.

On 16 September Warrant Officer Travis R. Tamayo, 32, of Brownsville, Texas died from a non-combat related incident in Abu Dhabi, UAE, while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.[cxli]

On 17 September, the DOD announced that it may have struck Syrian regime forces near Dayr Az Zawr.[cxlii] On 20 September the US Navy announced the death of Aviation Boatswain’s Mate, Airman, Devon M. Faulkner, 24, who died from non-combat related injuries while supporting Operation Odyssey Lightning, the US campaign in Libya.[cxliii]

21 September, 2016. US Secretary of the Army, Eric Fanning, takes photographs with Task Force Strike soldiers during his visit to the Combined Joint Task Force.[cxliv]

ISF forces raised the Iraqi flag over Sharqat on 23 September, liberating the city.[cxlv]

Infographic provided on the CJTF OIR website showing total training establishment as of September 24.[cxlvi]

September 25, 2016. CJTFOIR commander, Lt. General Stephen J. Townsend met with XVIII Airborne Corps soldiers at the Qayyarah airfield, Iraq.[cxlvii] XVIII Airborne Corps had previously led the coalition mission in Afghanistan, completing its tour there in December 2014. Townsend, commanding XVIII Airborne Corps, replaced Lt. General Sean MacFarland, III Armored Corps, shortly after 10 August, 2016. Townsend is expected to oversee the CJTF-OIR assaults on Mosul (Operation Conquest) and Raqqa, the ISIL capitals in Iraq and Syria. Russian airstrikes against Aleppo dramatically accelerated at the end of September, as Syrian regime forces prepared to enter the city in what many expect will be the decisive battle of the Syrian Civil War.[cxlviii]

RAF Tornado with 500 lb/230 kg Paveway IV laser-guided bombs on a strike mission, September 23, 2016.[cxlix]

Conclusions

USAF F-4C Wild Weasel flying over North Vietnam, December 1972.[cl]

During Operation Linebacker I between May and October 1972, 150,000 tons of munitions were dropped on North Vietnam; probably more than 130 kilotons: 300 million lbs.[cli] 40,000 tons were dropped on the area around An Loc between April and June 1972, while B-52s, flying 2,700 sorties, dropped 57,000 tons in Quang Tri Province. 18,000 sorties were flown in Military Region I, including Hue and Quang Tri.[clii] The B-52 Operation Linebacker II raids over eleven days in December 1972 produced 729 sorties and more than 20,000 tons dropped: 40 million lbs. One million tons of bombs were dropped during Operation Rolling Thunder, March 1965 to November 1968, the equivalent of 40 B-52s dropping full payloads, 800 tons, per day.[cliii]

B-52 refueling over Southeast Asia, 1967.[cliv] Operation Arc Light preceded Linebacker. B-52Ds could deliver 40,000 lbs of bombs. In the 1990s, the B-52G delivered 66,000 lbs of bombs, and modernized B-52Hs can carry 70,000 lbs, a typical strike package consisting of eighteen 1000 lb mk83 bombs.

In Iraq and Syria the tempo of the air campaign remains enormous, with 17,369 weapons releases for the first seven months of 2016, with an average of almost 2,500 launches per month. In December 2015, 21,113 sorties yielded 715 strikes that delivered 3,139 releases (often described as “bombs dropped”). That year a total of 21,113 sorties were flown. Of those, at least 9,914 had resolved in a weapons launch, with a number of estimates putting the total number of bombs dropped and guided missiles fired (presumably excluding cannon expended, although cannon attacks are included in the strike figures), at over 20,000 for 2015. For the first seven months of 2016, the figure was 12,350 sorties, with 6,575 of those sorties resulting in a weapons launch.

KC-135 Stratotanker flies over New Jersey on 31 August 2016.[clv] KC-135 and other refueling assets conducted 46,535 aircraft refuelings as of 31 July 2016, year to date.[clvi]

In April 2016 there were 2,582 weapons releases, then 2,341 coalition aircraft weapon releases in May.[clvii] There were 3,167 in June (almost double the quantity of launches in June the previous year),[clviii] and in July 2016 the B-52s began to operate in Afghanistan. In Iraq and Syria, 2,411 weapons were launched that month.[clix] There have been numerous reports that US stockpiles are decreasing, with the munitions industry struggling to keep up with demand for JDAMs, 1000 lb laser guided bombs, and other precision guided ordinance. The coalition is undoubtedly dropping many hundreds of thousands of lbs of munitions on Iraq and Syria, perhaps more than a million of lbs, every month. Keep in mind that none of these figures include Syrian regime airstrikes, or Russian airstrikes in Syria.

In February 2016, Rockwell’s B-1B Lancers, comprising the bulk of the USAF bomber force, and responsible for dropping 1/3 of total ordinance between July and January 2015,[clx] were withdrawn from the CJTF-OIR theatre for systems, weapons (JASSM-ER) and cockpit upgrades. Each B-1 can deliver 125,000 lbs of ordinance, with a typical load of 75,000 lbs of bombs not uncommon. This B-1B, with F-16 and F-15K escort, flies over South Korea on 21 September 2016, UN International Peace Day, in a show of resolve following the latest North Korean nuclear test.[clxi] The B-52s and B-1Bs have now been integrated into the USAF Global Strike Command, and will no doubt be deployed together in the expected air war finale, possibly before the end of the year.

[i] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_134215.htm

[ii] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_130212.htm

[iii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/740029/general-officer-assignments

[iv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/vpotus_baghdad.jpg

[v] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/745287/general-officer-announcement

[vi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/745154/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-lt-gen-thomas-waldhauser

[vii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/747626/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-norways-decision-to-expand-role

[viii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/751030/general-officer-announcements

[ix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/751477/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-danish-minister-of-defense-peter-chri

[x] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/757136/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[xi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/759621/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-belgiums-expanded-role-in-the-c

[xii] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_130941.htm

[xiii]

[xiv] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_131090.htm

[xv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/780277/general-officer-assignments

[xvi] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/_b4a8635.jpg

[xvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/790166/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-singaporean-prime-minister-lee-hsien

[xviii] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_131963.htm

[xix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/791045/command-senior-enlisted-leader-assignment

[xx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/794803/readout-of-deputy-secretary-of-defense-bob-works-meeting-with-montenegrin-minis

[xxi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/794218/general-officer-assignments

[xxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/796688/general-officer-assignments

[xxiii] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/2_p061416ps-0381.jpg

[xxiv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/p061516ps-0402.jpg

[xxv] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_132431.htm

[xxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/799360/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-british-secretary-of-state-for-defens

[xxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/798513/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-turkish-minister-of-defense-fikri-ik

[xxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/799360/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-british-secretary-of-state-for-defens

[xxix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/799690/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-ukrainian-minister-of

[xxx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/801790/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-kingdom-of-saudi-arabi

[xxxi] http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/APR-JUN%202016%20AFG%20Threat%20Assessment%20Map%20PDF%20final%20%281%29_0.pdf

[xxxii] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Enhancing_Security_and_Stability_in_Afghanistan-June_2016.pdf

[xxxiii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/803046/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[xxxiv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/804931/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-israeli-minister-of-defense-avigdor-l

[xxxv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/805485/statement-by-secretary-carter-on-polands-decision-to-expand-campaign-against-is

[xxxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/805527/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-new-zealands-decision-to-extend

[xxxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/808727/readout-of-deputy-secretary-works-meeting-with-dutch-minister-of-defense-secret

[xxxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/812022/readout-from-secretary-carters-call-with-uk-state-secretary-for-defense-michael

[xxxix] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_132812.htm

[xl] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/814822/statement-from-secretary-carter-on-fallujah

[xli] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/2_p062916ps-0719.jpg

[xlii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/775865/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-qatari-minister-of-state-for-defensege/image_file/p062816ps-0823.jpg

[xliii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/819791/readout-of-secretary-carters-call-with-turkish-minister-of-defense-fikri-ik

[xliv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/pod1-p070616ps-0128.jpg

[xlv] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_133044.htm

[xlvi] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_133039.htm

[xlvii] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_133048.htm

[xlviii] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_133042.htm

[xlix] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_133060.htm

[l] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/832439/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-turkish-minister-of-defense-fikri-iik

[li] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/832829/defense-secretary-commends-iraqi-forces-announces-new-accelerants-to-combat-isi

[lii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/840876/readout-of-secretary-carters-call-with-french-minister-of-defense-jean-yves-le

[liii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/850006/readout-of-secretary-carters-call-with-turkish-minister-of-defense-fikri-iik

[liv] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_134215.htm

[lv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/850679/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-french-minister-of-defense-jean-yves

[lvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/858304/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[lvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/879127/general-officer-assignments

[lviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/885684/command-senior-enlisted-leader-assignment

[lix] http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/10%20-%2029%20AUG%20Russian%20Airstrikes.pdf

[lx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/936475/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-israeli-minister-of-defense-avigdor-l

[lxi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/937226/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-turkish-minister-of-national-defense

[lxii] http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISIS%20Turkey%20Map.pdf

[lxiii] https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/16/readout-presidents-national-security-council-meeting-counter-isil

[lxiv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/946209/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[lxv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_img_full/image/image_file/p092016ps-0057.jpg

[lxvi] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_135173.htm

[lxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/953167/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-australias-prime-minis

[lxviii] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cs-3JXqUsAA8Fmv.jpg

[lxix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/958052/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-additional-support-to-iraqi-c

[lxx] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/03/21/u-s-air-war-against-isis-enters-new-phase-but-the-fight-for-mosul-is-coming/

[lxxi] http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/1/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2016/04April/20160407%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2016-04-07-084253-203

[lxxii] http://www.inherentresolve.mil/Portals/1/Documents/Strike%20Releases/2016/04April/20160415%20Strike%20Release%20Final.pdf?ver=2016-04-15-081540-793

[lxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBXH_2Vh2y0

[lxxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGQ1dwLfyE4

[lxxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um2cTjCsatI

[lxxvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulyzL6jwqg

[lxxvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdE-ZIFgLds

[lxxviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgqJuGGKi9Y

[lxxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4YdRQ0iiWE

[lxxx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unnu81Emvuw

[lxxxi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/751070/department-of-defense-identifies-navy-casualty

[lxxxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/754273/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[lxxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW3y49ULreY

[lxxxiv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/756104/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-hostage-rescue-in-afghanistan

[lxxxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwelYG6Q-94

[lxxxvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSkdBnzkVQQ

[lxxxvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXzUH0T7fqE

[lxxxviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaYboMzvXPc

[lxxxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H6JEesdcK0

[xc] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/778259/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-airstrike-against-taliba ; http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/778380/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-us-airstrike-against-taliban-le

[xci] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/784079/dod-identifies-navy-casualty

[xcii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/788062/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-airstrike-in-somalia

[xciii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH4X-EGtDYo

[xciv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjtCn896yU

[xcv] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-falluja-idUSKCN0YL1B0

[xcvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvnMY7u026c

[xcvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kr1eoi94es

[xcviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z04I8iCHcw

[xcix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO53IUFXols

[c] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzZyusGFTSs

[ci] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/810435/dod-identifies-navy-casualty

[cii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/823506/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-strike-targeting-isil-milit

[ciii] http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.727142

[civ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxBpqNbvuJs

[cv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCnrlEeQlwA

[cvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXb1GSDxeSA

[cvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuHeeLWUmLQ

[cviii] http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-airstrikes-syria-june-3-28-2016

[cix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lqJ89GgiRs

[cx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM4TGOJgon4

[cxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPPPybddQ0A

[cxii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx3emfVNoN8

[cxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iby9R5p1MAc

[cxiv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/836651/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-death-of-umar-khalifa

[cxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEHu2ZYIDPw

[cxvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY1og3vuO4M

[cxvii] https://www.sofmag.com/barksdale-airmen-continue-b-52-mission-against-isis/

[cxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/849496/dod-identifies-air-force-casualty

[cxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSiHbRUy6WI

[cxx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvBofL5Tgtg

[cxxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKVk2h0xcps

[cxxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/913820/statement-by-deputy-press-secretary-gordon-trowbridge-on-strike-targeting-an-is

[cxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc8jV4MJjw

[cxxiv] http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-airstrikes-syria-june-3-28-2016

[cxxv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/906735/dod-identifies-air-force-casualty

[cxxvi] http://www.inherentresolve.mil/News/Article/954941/coalition-continues-counter-isil-progress-across-iraq-syria/

[cxxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/881794/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-air-strike-in-libya

[cxxviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsawnnI4sQ

[cxxix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/911063/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-attacks-in-turkey

[cxxx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/914092/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[cxxxi] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-islamic-state-idUSKCN10N178

[cxxxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/914947/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-the-liberation-of-manbij

[cxxxiii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/923444/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-us-casualties-in-afghanistan ; http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/924303/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[cxxxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQSmoK99Rs

[cxxxv] http://www.wsj.com/articles/turkey-send-more-tanks-into-syria-as-kurds-pull-out-of-manbij-1472129794

[cxxxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/930843/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-precision-airstrike-targeti ; http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/941733/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-strike-against-isil-senio

[cxxxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/946983/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-airstrike-against-isil-se

[cxxxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/940436/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[cxxxix] https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/fight-against-isis-gaining-momentum-goldfein-says-on-npr

[cxl] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac62VSqMSc0

[cxli] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/947846/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[cxlii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/947848/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-coalition-airstrike-in-syria

[cxliii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/951831/department-of-defense-identifies-navy-casualty

[cxliv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNvMQfSMzX0

[cxlv] https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/779367961266098176

[cxlvi] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtNGQ6BWcAAB-SA.jpg

[cxlvii] https://twitter.com/CJTFOIR/status/780092970074791936

[cxlviii] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/01/john-kerry-suggests-syrian-elections-include-assad-as-hospitals/

[cxlix] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtEZ6ZvWYAApNza.jpg

[cl] http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2000558442

[cli] https://t.co/VuTIIKOYv2

[clii] Drew Middleton, Air War Vietnam, Arno Press, New York Times Company, New York, 1978.

[cliii] Karnow, Stanley, Vietnam: A History, p. 468

[cliv] http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2000270836

[clv] http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/938871/af-week-in-photos.aspx

[clvi] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2014/0814_iraq/docs/Airpower_31_July_2016.pdf

[clvii] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2014/0814_iraq/docs/Airpower_31_May_2016.pdf

[clviii] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2014/0814_iraq/docs/Airpower_30_June_2016.pdf

[clix] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2014/0814_iraq/docs/Airpower_31_July_2016.pdf

[clx] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/03/21/u-s-air-war-against-isis-enters-new-phase-but-the-fight-for-mosul-is-coming/

[clxi] http://www.af.mil/News/Photos.aspx?igphoto=2001638865#.V-k6nlNUE0E.twitter

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve: The Air Campaign, Effectiveness, Part II

The Operation Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, instated March 30, 2016.[i] The first five medals were awarded by US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on 18 April 2016.

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve: The Air Campaign, Effectiveness, Part II

It has been over six months since the 13 November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. Russian involvement has significantly changed the situation in Syria, while the latest terrorist attack against the Brussels airport and metro-station on 22 March, in addition to the 19 March attacks in Istanbul, seem to suggest ongoing pressure from the Islamic State’s European terrorist network.

How has CENTCOM’s Operation Inherent Resolve and its vast air campaign developed since November 2015? According to US Department of Defense figures, since the beginning of the air campaign (dated to 8 August 2014), over $6.5 billion dollars has been spent ($11.4 million a day), with total coalition sorties, as of 28 March 2016, estimated at 87,940.[ii] Of those, 11,230 were strike missions, with 7,556 carried out in Iraq and 3,674 in Syria. Meanwhile, the White House, Pentagon, NATO, and Moscow have all been been keen to stress improvements, such as the recapture of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, at the end of 2015, or the capture of Palmyra, in Syria, by the Russian supported Syrian Army at the end of March 2016. Likewise, Baghdad, with US and NATO backing, is now preparing to begin an offensive against Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, and a major ISIL stronghold. Meanwhile, Kabul remains a target for terrorist attacks,[iii] and the broader War on Terror is expected to continue into 2018 at least. How has the enormous Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve’s air campaign effort been maintained by the Global Coalition in diplomatic and operational terms? How effective has it been over the last six months?

Diplomacy and Strategy: Maintaining the Coalition

On December 2, 2015 the UK parliament voted to expand the RAF mission to include Syria. That day, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter made a statement applauding the UK’s commitment, and also voiced approval of the 1,200 personnel committed by Germany.[iv] On 7 December, the Defense Department announced that it had killed Abu Nabil (aka, Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi), who was an Iraqi ISIL leader and operative in Libya. He had been targeted as part of a strike on 13 November.[v]

On 15 December, the DOD announced that as part of the broader anti-Terror strategy, including air-strikes against targets in Somalia, the US was prepared to maintain a force level of 9,800 personnel in Afghanistan, to transition to 5,500 after 2016.[vi]

Ash Carter and General Paul J. Selva, USAF, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify before the Senate Armed Service Committee on 9 December.

On 19 December, as part of a tour of US and Coalition naval forces in theatre, Ash Carter made a phone call to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi regarding what appeared to be a friendly-fire incident involving the death of Iraq Security Forces by Coalition airstrikes.[vii] That same day Carter visited the French nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle, then the flagship of the USN’s Central Command Task Force 50. Carter placed a phone call to French Minister of Defense, Jean Yves Le Drian, in which the two discussed the ongoing anti-ISIL mission and, significantly, the future role of Russia in Syria, as well as the position of Iran.[viii] Carter also met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain at the King’s residence, where they discussed counter-ISIL strategy.[ix]

On 22 December, Secretary of Defense Carter called Italy’s Defence Minister, Roberta Pinotti, to follow up on their meeting in Rome the previous October. In this phone call they discussed Italian commitments to Iraq and Libya.[x] Six days later, following the Christmas break, Carter made a statement congratulating Iraq’s Prime Minister for the recapture of Ramadi from ISIL forces.[xi]

Meanwhile, the Pentagon was confronted with the North Korean nuclear test of 6 January which caused a flurry of activity: Carter was in close communication with Japanese and South Korean Defence Ministries, as well as US Forces Command Korea to discuss responses.[xii] As a result of these developments, Brigadier General Tony D. Bauernfeind, the Deputy Commander Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan was transferred to Special Operations Command, Korea, as Commanding General.[xiii]

On 11 January, Carter met with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Pentagon. Together they discussed the situation in Syria and reaffirmed their mutual commitment to countering ISIL.[xiv]

Barack Obama and Director of Speechwriting Cody Keenan work on the State of the Union Address while Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, looks on, seemingly exasperated. January 11, 2016.

On 13 January 2016, at 9:10 pm EST, US President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union address to the joint session of Congress. In his address, the President described the efforts that had been made thus far to degrade and destroy ISIL and al Qaeda- while the President denied that the Long War against global terrorism represented a new “World War III”, he did acknowledge that the US led 60 member nation coalition had conducted over 10,000 air strikes. Obama once again asked the US Congress to pass a vote authorizing military action against ISIL.[xv] Earlier that day, Ash Carter made a statement thanking US Secretary of State John Kerry for negotiating the release of ten US Navy sailors held by Iran.[xvi]

The next day, Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work traveled to Israel as part of a two-day trip to shore up US-Israeli defence commitments. During the trip, Work met with Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon and the Director-General of Israeli Ministry of Defense Dan Harel, as well as Israel’s President, Reuven Rivlin. In addition to broader discussion of regional strategy, the meeting emphasized US-Israeli technology cooperation, specifically the DOD’s Third Offset Strategy.[xvii] Work was scheduled to follow up this trip with another trip to the United Kingdom. While in Cheltenham and Hereford during January 14, 15, 16 and 17, the Deputy Secretary met with UK Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Philip Dunne, and discussed “global security issues, bilateral defence cooperation,” and other technical issues related to refocusing the UK’s defence establishment on cyber, special operation and technical innovation, following on the UK’s Strategic Defense and Security Review.[xviii]

On 18 January Ash Carter met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Pentagon, following a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. The focus of the discussion was on Syria and Iraq, in addition to the ongoing crisis in the Asia-Pacific region. Carter expressed his desire to see continued Australian cooperation, in particular, Turnbull’s participation in the upcoming counter-ISIL coalition meeting in Paris.[xix]

January 19^th, President Obama says goodbye to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull following a working lunch.

Next, Coalition partners, meeting in Paris, issued a joint statement on January 20^th. The Defence Ministries of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and United States affirmed their commitment to accelerating the “C-ISIL/DAESH” mission. The joint statement confirmed that the coalition had gained momentum and was now preparing to move into, “its next phase targeting ISIL/DAESH vulnerabilities.” The statement emphasized that, while the military campaign was a critical component of the overall strategy, equally important would be ongoing political steps to ensure regional stability.[xx] A further meeting would take place in February.

Major re-shuffling of the Afghan-Iraq command occurred on 21 January. Major General Jay B. Silveria USAF was moved to deputy commander USAF Cent-Com, and, wearing a second hat, also became deputy Combined Forces Air Component Commander, Cent-Com (Southwest Asia). Brigadier General Jeffrey B. Taliaferro became Commander 9^th Air And Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan, as well as NATO C-in-C for Air Command-Afghanistan, in addition to deputy commander USAF-Afghanistan Central Command. Brigadier General Richard A. Coe, the deputy commander (air) for Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Iraq, and Joint Air Component Coordination Element-Iraq (for CJTF-OIR) was moved to the Inspector General position for HQ Air Combat Command in Langley Virginia. Brigadier General Coe was replaced by Col. Matthew C. Isler- promoted, Brigadier General- formerly of the 12^th Flying Training Wing, Air Education and Training Command, San Antonio Texas. To support closer integration with UK forces, Brigadier General Chris M. Short, 57^th Fighter Wing commander, became the defense attaché-UK, within the Defense Intelligence Agency.[xxi]

Left to right: General Sir Nicholas Houghton (UK Chief of Defence) with General Tom Middendorp (Chief of Defence, The Netherlands) and General Joseph Dunford (Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff)

174^th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session, Brussels. General Sir Nicholas Houghton, UK Chief of Defence, General Tom Middendorp, Chief of Defence, The Netherlands, and the Chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, met on 21 January, 2016.

The next day, Ash Carter met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They reiterated their commitment to countering-ISIL, with Carter stressing the successes in the Ramadi operation.[xxii] The global coalition was preparing for a major summit in Brussels. Carter also met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, where they discussed the deployment of Afghanistan’s A-29 aircraft in the counter-Taliban campaign, and both looked forward to meeting again at the NATO summit in July to be held in Warsaw.[xxiii] The A-29 contract is worth $427 million, and will deliver 20 of the close attack planes by 2018.[xxiv]

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, US Secretary of Defense Ash B. Carter, the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, Office of the Prime Minister of Singapore, and Espen Barth Eide, Head of Geopolitical Affairs, World Economic Forum are seen discussing the Global Security Outlook at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, 22^nd January.

US President Barack Obama at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, January 22^nd 2016

On 27 January, Carter announced that General John Campbell, C-in-C US Forces Afghanistan and Commander NATO Operation Resolute Support was to be replaced by Lt. General John Nicholson, former commander US 82^nd Airborne Division and Chief of Staff for the International Security Assistance Force and US Forces Afghanistan.[xxv]

The following day the US and Russian Defense personnel consulted via video conference on further implementation of their “memorandum of understanding” designed to prevent flight accidents over Syrian airspace.[xxvi] The next day, 29 January, Ash Carter made a statement regarding the Dutch Minister of Defense, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert’s, decision to expand Dutch airstrikes over Syria. Carter looked forward to meeting with Hennis-Plasschaert, and the representative from the 26 nation military coalition, in two-weeks time in Brussels for the coalition’s Defence Ministerial conference.[xxvii]

January 29^th: Major General Mark R. Stammer, C-in-C Combined Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Freedom-Horn of Africa was replaced by Brigadier General Kurt L. Sonntag, formerly Special Operations Command South, US Southern Command.[xxviii] Brigadier General Scott A. Howell, promoted Major General, became commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan.[xxix] On 5 February Colonel Daniel L. Simpson was promoted to Brigadier General and transferred from the National Security Agency to deputy director of intelligence, US Forces-Afghanistan, as well as assistant deputy chief of staff of intelligence to NATO HQ, Operation Resolute Support.[xxx] It is significant to note the number of intelligence officers being transferred to Afghanistan postings.

As of February 2^nd, Lt. General Sean B. Macfarland, C-in-C CJTF-OIR had approximately 6,500 soldiers from 17 nations under his command in Iraq.[xxxi]

February 5^th, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg photographed at the European Defence Ministers meeting.

On February 9^th, President Obama sent Congress his Fiscal Year 2017 budget for $582.7 billion for the DOD. The budget was meant to reflect changes in the security situation, including, “Russian aggression, terrorism by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and others, and China’s island building and claims of sovereignty in international waters”. The budget allowed for 460,000 soldiers in the Army, 335,000 soldiers in the National Guard, and 195,000 soldiers in the Army Reserve for 56 total brigade combat teams. The Marine Corps would consist of 182,000 marines and 38,5000 reservists. The Navy was to expand from 280 ships to 308 (over 5 years), with 380,900 active duty and reserve sailors. The USAF was to consist of 491,700 active duty, reserve and national guard airmen, for 55 tactical fighter squadrons.[xxxii]

February 10^th, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Staff in bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Defense Secretary Carter met with Canadian Minister of National Defense Harjit Sajjan on 10 February during Carter’s visit to Brussels. Sajjan was thanked for his commitment to countering ISIL, including the extension of Canada’s role in aerial refueling and surveillance. Canada is also expanding its training and intelligence missions for Iraq.[xxxiii]

NATO Defence Ministers family portrait 10^th February 2016, NATO HQ, Brussels.

On 11 February, Ash Carter met with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense, Mohammed bin Salman, in Brussels. Both parties agreed on the importance of accelerating the counter-ISIL mission. Carter responded favorably to the Minister’s offer to expand Saudi Arabia’s role in the air campaign.[xxxiv]

On February 12^th, Brigadier General Scott A. Kindsvater, formally the Assistant deputy commander USAF Central Command, became deputy commander-Operations and Intelligence, CJTF-OIR.[xxxv] Also on the 12^th, Ash Carter met with United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Mohammed Al Bowardi, in Brussels. Carter “welcomed” the Minister’s willingness for the UAE to rejoin the coalition air campaign.[xxxvi] Further, on the 12^th, the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) members met at Munich to discuss a Cessation of Hostilities agreement.

February 15 was the beginning of the Syrian Democratic Forces operation to secure Shaddadi.[xxxvii] On 16 February Brigadier General Antonio M. Fletcher, formerly the special assistant to the commanding general, US Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, became deputy commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Brigadier General Robert P. Walters Jr., formerly the director of intelligence US Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base became deputy chief of staff, intelligence, Resolute Support Mission, NATO and director J-2, US Forces Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel- continuing the trend of appointing intelligence officers to Afghanistan postings.[xxxviii]

The following day, Secretary of Defense Carter made a statement condemning the 17 February terrorist attacks in Ankara.[xxxix] On 19 February the DOD announced that it had conducted an airstrike on an ISIL training camp near Sabratha, Libya, targeting Noureddine Couchane (“Sabir”), a Tunisian, operating the ISIL training camp there.[xl] That same day, Brigadier General David W. Hicks (USAF) was transferred from vice commander First Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, to Commander NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan, Operation Resolute Support.[xli] The following day the DOD admitted that two Serbian hostages held in Libya had been killed, although the Defense Department did not admit if it was responsible, or if these were reprisal killings for its 19 February airstrike.[xlii]

23^rd February, President Obama and members of the national security team meet via video conference with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and French President Francois Hollande to discuss the situation in Syria. From Obama’s right is Vice President Joseph Biden, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, Lisa Monaco, Avril Haines, Deputy National Security Advisor, and National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice.

ISW map estimating Taliban control in Afghanistan, 23 February 2016.[xliii]

On 23 February USMC Colonel William H. Seely III was promoted to Brigadier General, serving in the function of chief of staff USMC Cyberspace Command, Fort Meade, then deployed at the J-2 Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Iraq.[xliv]

February 25^th, President Obama at a National Security Council meeting held at the US State Department to discuss the Counter-ISIL mission.

February 29^th: the DOD held a video conference with Russian Defense officials concerning the ongoing US-Russia memorandum of understanding on flight safety over Syria.[xlv]

1^st March 2016, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with Iraq’s President Fouad Massoum.

March 4^th, Barack Obama and members of the National Security Council discuss counter-terrorism, via video conference from the White House Situation Room, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. From the President’s right are Vice President Joseph Biden, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, Lisa Monaco, Peter Lavoy, Senior Director for South Asian Affairs, Avril Haines, Deputy National Security Advisor, and National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice.

Institute for the Study of War, ISIS Regional Campaign map showing major areas of operation, March 2016[xlvi]

On March 8^th, Ash Carter met with German Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Pentagon. The two discussed the counter-ISIL mission, the situation in Ukraine, and Afghanistan, and Carter was pleased with Germany’s ongoing commitment to Operation Resolute Support.[xlvii] On 11 March the DOD announced that Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti would succeed USAF General Breedlove as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.[xlviii] Scaparrotti had previously commanded the International Security and Assistance Force Afghanistan during the 2011-2012 surge.[xlix]

On 14 March, Carter met with Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon at the Pentagon. On March 15, the DOD appointed Major General Paul A. Ostrowski to deputy commanding general for support, Combined Security and Transition Command-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.[l] Likewise, Brigadier General Jeffery D. Broadwater, the deputy commander of the 1^st Armored Division, was appointed the director CJ-35 for Resolute Support Mission, NATO, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, replacing Brigadier General Richard C. Kim. Brigadier General Broadwater traded postings with Brigadier General Joel K. Tyler, who had formerly been the director of operations for the CTJF-OIR.

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg conducts a briefing during his visit to Afghanistan with Chairman of the Military Committee, General Petr Pavel (left) and Operation Resolute Support Commander, General John Nicholson (centre), 14 March 2016.

March 18^th, 2016. President Obama speaks with French President Francois Hollande and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel regarding the capture of Salah Abdeslam, a planner of the November 13 2015 Paris Terrorist attacks. Standing across from Obama is Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

On the 17^th, the Pentagon released its 2017 Defense Posture Statement.[li] In that document, Defense Secretary Carter lamented the possible sequestration that would follow 2017, resulting in a $100 billion in cuts from 2018 to 2021. Carter acknowledged a dramatic shift in the global balance of power, suggesting that the concept of a return to great power politics may be a valid comparison. The Secretary of Defense stressed the importance of countering ISIL, “most immediately in its parent tumor in Iraq and Syria, and also where it is metastasizing, in Afghanistan, Africa, and elsewhere”. Carter noted that the $7.5 billion budget for Operation Inherent Resolve would be “critical to continuing to implement and accelerate the coalition military campaign plan that the United States has developed”. The 2017 strategy would focus on destroying ISIL in Raqqa, in Syria, and Mosul, in Iraq.[lii]

The budget included the all important figure of $630 million for training and equipping the Iraqi Security Force, and another $250 million for “enabling Syrian anti-ISIL forces.”[liii] Significantly, only $41.7 million was earmarked for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Another $9 million was earmarked for other counter-ISIL operations in the Levant, and a further $166 million for the North and West African theatres. The DOD intended to spend another $1.8 billion to purchase over 45,000 GPS guided bombs due to the reduction in coalition stockpiles caused by the air campaign.[liv] A further $5.7 billion was earmarked for the increase of global daily unmanned air patrols form 70 to 90 by the end of 2018. These patrols would include “a mix of MQ-9 Reapers, Extended Range Reapers, and MQ-1C Advanced Gray Eagles” and require “60 patrols from the Air Force, 16 from the Army, and 14 that are government-owned and flown by contractors for the Air Force and US Special Operations Command”. The A-10 Thunderbolt II would continued flying until 2022, as the A-10s operating in support of Operation Inherent Resolve flying out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey were deemed essential for the air campaign.[lv]

On March 19^th the Pentagon announced the deployment of the XVIII Airborne Corps HQ to Kuwait, along with 450 soldiers, where the XVIII Airborne Corps would replace III Corps as the command HQ for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.[lvi]

On 22 March Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work met Danish Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Defense, Thomas Ahrenkiel, at the Pentagon, where they discussed the counter-ISIL campaign.[lvii]

22^nd March, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg prepares to give a statement following the Brussels airport terrorist attacks.

On 24 March Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work hosted Norway’s Secretary for Defense, Oystein Bo, at the Pentagon, where the two discussed broader counter-ISIL strategy.[lviii] Secretary of Defense Ash Carter meanwhile called Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defense, to discuss the situation in the middle-east and the counter-ISIL mission.[lix]

On 25 March Major General Christopher K. Haas became deputy chief of staff, Operations, Resolute Support Mission, having been transferred from his posting as director, force management and development, US Special Operations Command.[lx] Major General Hass replaced Major General Mark R. Quantock, who became director J-2 US Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base. Brigadier General Willard M. Burleson III, the director, Mission Command Center of Excellence, US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, also became senior advisor to the Ministry of Defense, US Forces-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

March 25, Ash Carter and Marine Corps General Joe Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters on counter-ISIL strategy.

On March 29^th Ash Carter hosted the Estonian Defense Minister, Hannes Hanso, at the Pentagon to discuss Estonia’s support for “operations in Afghanistan, Africa, the Balkans, and importantly its support for the coalition’s counter-ISIL campaign.”[lxi] Naturally, Russia was another major item on the agenda.

On March 30^th the Defense Department announced that service members who had been active in Iraq, Syria, or nearby water or airspace from June 15, 2014, onwards would be eligible to be awarded the newly implemented Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal.[lxii]

March 31^st, President Obama hosts a working dinner with the heads of state and delegation members attending the Washington Nuclear Security Summit in the White House East Room.

On 31 March, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin, and Joint Staff Vice Director for Strategic Plans and Policy Major General Steven M. Shepro, held a video conference from the Pentagon, with Russian MOD counterparts concerning the ongoing memorandum of understanding regarding flight safety over Syrian airspace.[lxiii]

April 1^st, 2016. US President Barack Obama bids farewell to Chinese President XI Jinping at the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit, Washington DC.

April 4^th, President Obama and members of his national security team meet with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, in the Oval Office. To the right of the President are Vice President Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, and National Security Advisor Susan Rice. Seated in front of the camera, holding a highlighted document, is Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and right of Carter is Avril Haines, Deputy National Security Advisor, and Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

President Obama shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during their bilateral meeting on April 4^th. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry visible in background.

April 4^th, Barack Obama poses with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Oval Office following their bilateral meeting.

President Obama also met with his National Security Team and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on April 5^th and issued a statement in which he stressed the need to continue accelerating the air campaign, which he credited with cutting critical the Raqqa-Mosul supply line.[lxiv]

On 14 April, the DOD announced that Brigadier General Dennis S. McKean, formerly the commandant US Army Armor School, would become the chief, Office of Security Cooperation – Iraq, US Central Command.[lxv]

On April 13, President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Kerry, CIA Director Brennan, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dunford made a statement on the coalition’s anti-ISIL strategy.[lxvi] Speaking from the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, President Obama stated that the Islamic State is now on the defensive. The President noted successes in Anbar province, Iraq, especially around Hit. The President also pointed to gains made in Syria at al-Shaddadi, including the cutting of the supply corridor between Raqqah and Mosul. “In other words,” said the President, “the ISIL core in Syria and Iraq continues to shrink,” with ISIL fighters estimated to be in their lowest numbers in two years. Meanwhile, Obama pointed to diplomatic efforts about to resume in Geneva, seeking a conclusion to the Syrian civil war.[lxvii]

On April 16^th, the New York Times reported that the Obama Administration was planning to accelerate its anti-ISIL campaign by increasing the deployment of Special Operations forces to Syria, as well as Army helicopters to Iraq. “Dozens” of SOF soldiers were to be added, to the 50 currently working inside Syria, up to as many as 200. The SOF were expected to provide support for the planned operation against Raqqa, the Islamic State’s capital, while the Army’s Apache helicopter gunships (which Iraq’s government had refused in December 2015)[lxviii] would support the planned future operation to capture Mosul.[lxix] Ash Carter, meanwhile, was in Al Dhafra air base for a tour of the Middle East. There were approximately 5,000 US service members in Iraq at the time. The coalition was now transitioning to its second phase of operations.

Ash Carter meets with Global Hawk pilots during his tour of Iraq, April 17, 2016.

Operations and Tactics: Executing the Mission

 

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters training in Irbil Iraq, October 11 2015.

During airstrikes carried out on 13 November 2015, nine coalition strikes were carried out against ISIL units near Ramadi, while other strikes near Ramadi destroyed 16 buildings, two weapons caches, six ISIL fighting positions, two light machine guns, an ISIL rocket launcher and two sniper positions. Also targeted and destroyed were five vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), a staging area, two heavy machine guns, two command and control positions, a supply cache, an ISIL vehicle, another fighting position, plus damage was done to an ISIL controlled road.[lxx]

As part of Operation Tidal Wave II (the targeting of ISIL controlled oil assets), 116 fuel trucks were destroyed near Abu Kamal, Syria on November 15.[lxxi]

            In the above image a PGM (precision guided munition) can be seen moments before it destroys an ISIL fuel truck. In the image below, incoming cannon rounds from the attacking A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft can be seen a split second before destroying another truck.[lxxii]

            On November 18^th coalition airstrikes destroyed a bridge leading to Ramadi.[lxxiii]

On November 19 the coalition conducted three strikes near Kisik , Iraq, destroying four LMGs, two vehicles and two supply caches. [lxxiv] That same day the coalition destroyed an ISIL anti-air emplacement near Fallujah.[lxxv]

Shortly afterwards, on November 24, the CJTF-OIR youtube page uploaded video highlighting the destruction of 283 ISIL fuel trucks during November 22, near Al Hassakah and Dayr Az Zawr Syria.[lxxvi] The images above show a small sample of the trucks, parked end-to-end in a huge circle, being decimated by A-10 cannon strikes.

            On the 24^th of November the coalition destroyed a homemade exposive (HME) cache near Ramadi. On December 1^st the coalition targeted a VBIED factory near Al Qaim, Iraq, and destroyed it, following that up with airstrikes the next day that destroyed two VBIEDs near Ramadi.[lxxvii]

            The photo above shows the VBIED factory before its destruction, while the colour before and after screen captures (below) show the destruction of VBIEDs near Ramadi.

On December 5, the coalition destroyed five ISIL oil wellheads near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria.[lxxviii] PGM circled.

Two VBIED factories near Qayyarah Iraq were targeted on December 7^th and 10^th, and a logistics factory was also hit.[lxxix]

On December 9, six strikes were carried out near Ramadi, destroying 2 ISIL boats used to cross the Euphrates, as well as two “tactical units” and five “fighting positions” and three weapons caches.[lxxx] Further strikes were carried out at Ramadi on 13 December, destroying multiple ISIL controlled buildings.[lxxxi] These were only a small sample of broader coalition strike missions, which included hundreds of attacks on a monthly bases. Multiple strikes were carried out every day.

On 15 December coalition airstrikes hit Al Qaim, Iraq, destroying an HQ building, an IED factory and a VBIED factory.[lxxxii]

During December 16-17 multiple strikes were carried out at Mosul, pulverizing ISIL positions and vehicles.[lxxxiii] More strikes were carried out on 20 December.[lxxxiv]

On 21 December six USAF personnel were killed when they were attacked while on patrol by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle at Bagram Air Base in Afhganistan. [lxxxv] Another two services members were injured as was a US contractor.[lxxxvi] These soldiers had been operating as part of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

On December 24 the coalition continued to hammer ISIL oil assets near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria. In sum 11 strikes were carried out in Syria that day followed by 19 strikes in Iraq.[lxxxvii] Cave complexes around Al Baghdadi were targeted, as shown in the image below.[lxxxviii]

On December 25-26 the coalition targeted ISIL controlled bridges near Tal Afar, Iraq.[lxxxix]

On December 28^th the ISF recaptured portions of Ramadi, raising the Iraqi flag over the rubble of a government building.[xc]

On December 29 the New York Times reported that Iraqi Security Forces had recaptured Ramadi- one the heaviest bombed cities during the December air campaign.[xci] By this point the CJTF-OIR had trained 15,892 ISF forces with another 4,200 in training.

This chart shows the number of times a respective area was targeted, according to CJTF-OIR website press releases for December 2015, providing an indication of the scale of daily and monthly attacks. It is important to recognize that these figures do not include the hundreds of sorties and strikes carried out by Russian aircraft during the same period.[xcii]

Further strikes against the Dayr Az Zawr oilfields occurred on December 29.[xciii] Additional strikes were carried out against Mosul,[xciv] and further attacks hit the Abu Kamal bridge, Syria, on January 1^st.[xcv] The various oil works at Dayr Az Zawr were targeted again on 2 January.[xcvi]

Ramadi was subjected to additional airstrikes on 5 January.[xcvii] A PGM seen here moments before obliterating an ISIL controlled building.

On 6 January 2016 the DOD announced the death of Staff Sgt. Matthew Q. McClintock, 1^st Battalion, 19^th Special Forces Group (Airborne), who was killed in Marjah District, Afghanistan, during a firefight as part of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.[xcviii]

French F-2 Rafale flies over Iraq on 8 January.[xcix]

On January 10 a bridge at Tal Afar was destroyed.[c] Mosul was again targeted on January 11, this time an ISIL controlled bank and mint was targeted. This was the beginning of a shift in focus towards targeting central Mosul, in particular, ISIL’s financial assets. Other buildings were also targeted, again, dozens of strikes were carried out each day.[ci]

Kisik, Iraq was bombed on January 12^th.[cii] The following day an IED factory at Hit, Iraq was bombed.[ciii] Mosul was again the targeted of bombing on 15 January, PGM circled.[civ]

Mosul was bombed again on the 18^th: you can see approximately seven separate bombs hitting the same target in the video posted on the CJTF-OIR youtube page, before the structure collapses- significantly this would only count as part of one “strike” in the vernacular of the US Defense Department.[cv]

On January 17 the DOD announced the death of Major John D. Gerrie who was killed in “a non-combat related incident” on January 16^th while involved in Operation Inherent Resolve- the US Central Command’s anti-ISIL campaign.[cvi] The casualty had initially been attributed to Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, but was re-categorized as an OIR loss on January 22.

On January 25 airstrikes near Mar’a, Syria, destroyed another ISIL HQ building.[cvii] On 28 January an ISIL controlled communication array in Mosul was destroyed.[cviii]

On 29 January the DOD announced the death of Sgt. Joseph F. Stifter, 1^st Battalion, 7^th Field Artillery Regiment, 2^nd Brigade Combat Team, 1^st Infantry Division, when his HMMWV rolled over near Al Asad Airbase, Al Anbar Province, during activity supporting Operation Inherent Resolve on 28 January.[cix]

This chart shows the strike allocations conducted in Iraq and Syria for January 2016. Notice that despite the Iraqi Security Forces having entered Ramadi at the end of December 2015, Ramadi and the surrounding area accounted for 23% of all coalition strikes during January, and received the most strikes in absolute terms. Mosul was the next most heavily targeted city, accounting for 19% of all strikes that month. Interestingly, the ISIL capital in Syria, Ar Raqqah received only 3% of strikes, only 24 in total, compared to the 167 against Ramadi and 138 against Mosul. Note also the dropping off of strikes against the oil centre of Dayr Az Zawr, which had received 28 strikes the previous month, but only 11 in January.

Map showing territory lost to the Islamic State by February 2016.

Meanwhile, during the end of January, and the first week of February, Russia flew 468 sorties in Syria, destroying 1,354 facilities in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Homs, Damascus, Raqqa, Daraa, and Deir-ez-Zor.[cx]

ISW map showing Russian airstrikes in Syria, February to March 2016.[cxi]

A series of coalition strikes were carried out on 2 February. The oil fields at Dayr Az Zawr, Syria were targeted again. Then ISIL positions at Manbij, Syria were bombed.

Further heavy airstrikes were carried out on 13 February. Mosul was bombed again: see the before and after comparison below.[cxii] Several major buildings were destroyed, again note the multiple bomb impacts.[cxiii]

Abu Kamal, Syria, was bombed on 15 February, targeting weapon storage.[cxiv] ISIL barracks and vehicles were also targeted.[cxv]

The Dayr Az Zawr oil and gas plants were bombed again on 19 February.[cxvi] On 20 February ISIL positions near Al Hasakah Syria were bombed.[cxvii] Additional strikes against Al Hasakah were conducted on 21 February.[cxviii] Bridges at Dayr Az Zawr, Syria, were bombed on 21-22 February, and further wellhead strikes took place.[cxix]

An IED factory near Al Qaim, Iraq, was bombed on February 24^th.[cxx]

On 25 February an oil separation facility at Abu Kamal, Syria was hit.[cxxi]

Fallujah, one of the major ISIL control-points in Iraq, was targeted on 29 February, where an ISIL weapons storage facility was bombed.[cxxii] Also on the 29^th, a VBIED was destroyed at Manbij, Syria.[cxxiii]

            On 1 March another VBIED and a weapons storage warehouse at Mosul were destroyed.[cxxiv] The PGM can be seen before a series of explosions obliterates the warehouse in the images below.

An ISIL technical was destroyed at Ramadi on 2 March.[cxxv] On 3 March, Syrian President Bashir al-Asad’s forces recaptured the strategic city of Palmyra, a major turning point in the Syrian Civil War. On 4 March, the DOD carried out an airstrike at al Shaddadi, Syria, targeting senior ISIL leader Tarkhan Tayumurazovish Batirashvili, aka, Abu Umar al-Shishani, or Omar the Chechen, a senior member of the Islamic State’s war council. Omar the Chechen had been targeted as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.[cxxvi]

US Navy F/A-18 Hornets fly over Iraq on 3 March 2016.

On 5 March ISIL vehicles were bombed at Manbij, Syria, while a weapons facility at Hit, Iraq, was also bombed.[cxxvii]

On 7 March the DOD announced that on March 5^th it conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab’s training camp in Raso, Somalia with manned and unmanned aircraft.[cxxviii]

ISIL positions at Mar’a were targeted on 8 March.[cxxix] An ISIL vehicle was also destroyed at Mar’a on 11 March.[cxxx]

ISIL positions at Hit, Iraq, were bombed on 12 March.[cxxxi] At least two IED factories at Mosul was destroyed on 14 March.[cxxxii] In the video, multiple PGMs can be seen hitting the targets, before secondary explosions completely destroy them.[cxxxiii]

Another ISIL vehicle was destroyed near Hit, Iraq on 15 March.[cxxxiv] Also on 15 March, it was reported that Russia would begin a phased withdrawal of its forces from Syria, following the success of pro-regime forces at Palmyra. Russia was expected to maintain a reserve presence in support of the Syrian Army.

On 19 March the coalition dropped bombs on an ISIL HQ building in Mosul.[cxxxv] Also on 19 March, Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, 2^nd Battalion, 6^th Marine Regiment, 26^th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was killed while “providing force protection fire support” near Makhmur, Northern Iraq, when their fire base was attacked by ISIL rockets.[cxxxvi] Several other marines were wounded in the attack. The Pentagon noted that this was the second combat fatality since the start of OIR.[cxxxvii] On 21 March, the Pentagon admitted it had formed a USMC base in northern Iraq, staffed by 100 to 200 marines from the 26^th Marine Expeditionary Unit.[cxxxviii]

On 22 March the DOD announced that it had conducted an airstrike in Yemen against an al-Qa’ida training camp, then being used by more than 70 militants training with the al-Qa’iada in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).[cxxxix]

On 23 March the coalition carried out multiple strikes at Qayyarah, Iraq; where a radio tower and other communication facilities were demolished.[cxl] An ISIL vehicle was also destroyed at Al Hawl, Syria.[cxli] The bridge at Qayyarah was again targeted on 24 March, destroying a large part of it.[cxlii]

Afghan tactical air controllers call in practice strikes at a training range in Kabul, 27 March. Czech Republic air advisors look on.

An ISIL barracks and a safehouse, at Hit, Iraq were bombed on March 28^th.[cxliii] The next day an HQ building in Hit was destroyed.[cxliv] Further strikes at Hit on 31 March destroyed a VBIED.[cxlv]

On 31 March the DOD carried out an airstrike in Somalia, targeting Hassan Ali Dhoore, a senior al-Shabaab agent within the organization’s Amniyat (security and intelligence) wing.[cxlvi]

Institute for the Study of War map showing estimated ISIL control in Syria and Iraq on 31 March.[cxlvii]

On 1 April a weapons cache at Qayyarah was bombed.[cxlviii] A bridge at Hit was bombed on 2 April.[cxlix] On 3 April a VBIED was destroyed near Shadaddi, Syria.[cl] In the video, the vehicle can be seen racing down a road before it is surrounded by cannon fire and explodes in a huge fireball.

On April 7, the Pentagon announced that it had killed Abu Zubary al-Bosni near Bajar, a Swedish fighter, and Khalid Osman Timayare, the “deputy emir of the Anwar al-Awlaki Brigade,” also a Swedish national, was killed at Ar Rayhaniyah.[cli] By this point in the Shaddadi offensive, 6,100 square kilometers had been recaptured, and the coalition had conducted over 209 strike missions, “killing hundreds of enemy fighters.”[clii]

A number of attacks were carried out on April 8. In Syria, remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) carried out eight strikes, one at Hawl and seven at Mara. In Iraq, fighter aircraft and attack planes, supported by RPAs, bombed targets at Huwayjah, where an HMG was destroyed, at Fallujah, and at Hit, where two HMGs were destroyed, as well as a recoilless rifle, a supply cache, a boat and two vehicles. At Kirkuk two strikes destroyed an ISIL bunker, two vehicles and seven rocket systems plus a VBIED. At Mosul, seven strikes destroyed various targets including a VBIED manufacturing plant and a supply cache. At Qayyarah eight ISIL positions were bombed. Near Sinjar two supply caches were destroyed. At Sultan Abdallah a supply cache was destroyed and an assembly area bombed.[cliii]

Iraqi HMMWV fires TOW missile in Hit during fighting early in April.

On April 9^th, attack aircraft carried out two strikes in Syria, one bombing the Dayr Az Zawr oil separation plant. At Manbij, a strike destroyed ISIL artillery and rocket systems. 21 strikes were conducted in Iraq. An ISIL HMG was bombed at Huwayjah. 22 rockets and two “rocket rails” were destroyed at Albu Hayat. An ISIL mortar system and vehicle were destroyed near Habbaniyah. At Haditha an ISIL tactical unit and fighting positions were bombed. At Hit four strikes were carried out, destroying an HMG, an artillery piece, and anti-aircraft piece and 30 boats and one vehicle. At Kirkuk a fighting position was bombed. At Kisik two strikes hit an ISIL “command and control node”. At Mosul three strikes were carried out, destroying additional buildings and three rocket systems. An ISIL HQ building was bombed at Tal Afar, and at Qayyarah four strikes destroyed weapons facilities and two ISIL VBIEDs were also destroyed.[cliv] This level of destruction was typical for the entire period, November 2015 to April 2016.

On April 9, B-52 bombers operating out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar began operations as part of the CJTF-OIR effort, signaling a dramatic expansion of the air war.[clv]

On 10 April one strike was carried out at Raqqah, Syria, and 24 strikes were conducted in Iraq. Qayyarah was bombed 3 times, destroying two boats and a vehicle. Mosul was bombed eight times, destroying five communications facilities, two vehicles and a boat. Kirkuk was hit four times, destroying two ISIL HMGs, and a supply cache, amongst other areas and targets bombed.[clvi]

On 11 April the coalition carried out five strikes in Syria and 13 strikes in Iraq. On 14 April four strikes were conducted in Syria, at Hawl, Raqqah, and Ma’ra in Syria; while 17 strikes were carried out in Iraq, at Hit, four machine gun positions were destroyed, a boat and boat dock, an ISIL vehicle, and a command position were all bombed. In Kisik two ISIL units were destroyed as well as a bunker. At Mosul, a VBIED and a storage facility were destroyed. At Qayyarah, an HQ unit and financial centre were bombed. Near Sultan Abdallah two strikes destroyed seven ISIL boats and a mortar position. Another mortar was bombed at Tal Afar.[clvii]

US Marine Corps EA-6B Prowlers deployed to Turkey to support the OIR air campaign, starting on 14 April.[clviii]

On April 14^th, the New York Times reported that a team of Italian engineering specialists had arrived to work on repairing the Mosul dam, recaptured from ISIL in 2014, which earlier in the year CJTF-OIR commander Lt. General Macfarland described as a serious humanitarian disaster waiting to happen should it collapse.[clix]

The A-29 Super Tucano airplanes, flown by USAF trained Afghan Air Force pilots, went into action on 15 April.[clx] Also on 15 April Airman First Class Nathaniel H. McDavitt, operating at part of Operation Inherent Resolve, was killed when the building he had been working in collapsed as a result of high winds.[clxi]

Strikes carried out the week of 9 to 15 April.

On 18 April, Reuters newswire reported that the previous day, the coalition had conducted 20 airstrikes against IS militants in Syria and Iraq. Three strikes targeted two anti-aircraft pieces in Syria, and in Iraq, 17 strikes hit near eight different cities, destroying a weapons cache, communications facility, and safe house, a mortar position, a boat and a rocket team; basically par for the course in the ever increasing tempo of air operations.[clxii]

Conclusion

 

The coalition has dramatically accelerated its bombing campaign, conducting round-the-clock operations in Syria and Iraq. In the current phase of operations, heavy airstrikes are conducted daily against the major IS cities of Mosul, starting in February 2016, and the focus is now shifting to the IS capital, Raqqah, in Syria. More assets have been deployed to increase the pressure, including, in April, B-52 Stratofortress bombers, signaling a major escalation. The diplomatic and military effort to keep the coalition dedicated has yielded some results, with nations pledging either increased or continued support. However, by far the majority of strikes remain USAF led. The Russian campaign in Syria has been carefully orchestrated to prevent a conflict with coalition aircraft operating in the area, and is expected to maintain pressure if not at the tempo that had been carried out when Russia first intervened. President Obama spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone conference on April 18, and both parties agreed to “increase coordination” in the Syrian air campaign.[clxiii]

            Meanwhile, NATO and US coalition airstrikes are carried out in Afghanistan- as part of Operation Resolute Support and Freedom’s Sentinel- as well as in Somalia, Yemen, and Libya as part of the broader anti-al Qaida, anti-ISIL campaign. The US, NATO and the coalition have confirmed their intent to maintain troop presence in Afghanistan, and increasing deployments are being made to Iraq, where the US has suffered a handful of casualties, including combat fatalities. As a result of all this devastation from the air, the coalition has noticed a significant decrease of ISIL activity in Afghanistan.[clxiv] If true, this represents a major turning point since, in January 2016, the incoming Operation Resolute Support commander Lt. General John W. Nicholson described the situation in Afghanistan as “deteriorating” in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on January 28.[clxv] The difficult nature of the situation in Afghanistan remains evident, following  the major attacks in Kabul on 19 April.

However, Operation Inherent Resolve staff estimates suggest that the Islamic State has lost 40% of its former Syrian and Iraqi territory, with the CJTF-OIR spokesman stating that ISIL was “weakened” and efforts were now shifting to focus on fracturing the terrorist group.[clxvi] However, the OIR spokesman also pointed to the Iraqi Security Forces defensive posture at Fallujah, and noted that ISIL forces are putting up the staunchest resistance yet experienced, despite having suffered over 500 deaths from over 21 airstrikes in Iraq in the last week.[clxvii] At this time the coalition of nations involved in targeting ISIL in Iraq include the US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Syria, strikes have been carried out by the US, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

The Combined Forces Air Component Commander Air Power Statistics for March 2016 show large increases in overall sorties and, significantly, in strikes, from November through to February, with March still showing an overall increase over the preceding year.[clxviii]

In the following phase of operations, the focus will shift to further pulverizing Mosul and Raqqa, while the diplomatic agenda will accelerate to secure the modest gains made over the past six months. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the ISF and coalition aligned Syrian forces can operate on the scale necessary to conduct the large-scale offensives required for Mosul or Raqqa, and the increasingly combat orientated presence of US Special Forces and Marines seems to suggest skepticism regarding the success of the training regime. The arrival of additional coalition, USAF, Army and USMC air assets, including Apache helicopters and other close attack aircraft, not to mention the B-52s, no doubt heralds a further expansion of the air war in the future.

[i] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/708442/department-of-defense-publishes-inherent-resolve-campaign-medal-guidance

[ii] http://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0814_Inherent-Resolve

[iii] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSKCN0X80PX ; http://www.mysask.com/portal/site/main/template.MAXIMIZE/?javax.portlet.tpst=635b2ff202604ea181fa421740315ae8_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_635b2ff202604ea181fa421740315ae8_viewID=story&javax.portlet.prp_635b2ff202604ea181fa421740315ae8_topic_display_name=World%20News&javax.portlet.prp_635b2ff202604ea181fa421740315ae8_topic_name=World&javax.portlet.prp_635b2ff202604ea181fa421740315ae8_news_item_id_key=37135419&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken

[iv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/632434/statement-from-secretary-carter-on-counter-isil-actions-by-the-united-kingdom-a

[v] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/633221/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-nov-13-airstrike-in-libya

[vi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/634187/dod-releases-report-on-enhancing-security-and-stability-in-afghanistan

[vii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/637498/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-secretary-carters-phone-c

[viii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/637499/readout-of-secretary-carters-visit-to-frances-aircraft-carrier-charles-de-gaull

[ix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/637503/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-the-king-of-bahrain

[x] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/637806/readout-of-secretary-carters-call-with-italian-minister-of-defense-roberta-pino

[xi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/638744/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-progress-in-the-fight-for-ramadi

[xii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/641779/dod-identifies-army-casualty ; http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/641725/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-carters-call-with-republic-of-korea-defense-min

[xiii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/642709/general-officer-assignments

[xiv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/642261/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-his-majesty-king-abdullah-ii-of-jordan

[xv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/12/remarks-president-barack-obama-%E2%80%93-prepared-delivery-state-union-address

[xvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/642791/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-us-navy-sailors-departure-fro

[xvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/643050/readout-of-deputy-secretary-works-visit-to-israel

[xviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/643424/deputy-secretary-of-defense-bob-works-visit-to-the-united-kingdom

[xix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/643442/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-australian-prime-minister-turnbull

[xx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/643681/joint-statement-on-counter-isil-cooperation-by-the-defense-ministers-of-austral

[xxi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/643975/general-officer-assignments

[xxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/644017/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-iraqi-prime-minister-h

[xxiii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/644250/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-the-president-of-afghanistan-ashraf-g

[xxiv] http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/04/15/a29-super-tucanos-see-first-action-afghanistan.html

[xxv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/645193/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-change-of-command-in-afghanistan

[xxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/645700/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[xxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/646430/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-the-netherlands-expansion-of-ai

[xxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/646918/general-officer-assignments

[xxix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/646920/general-officer-assignments

[xxx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/651341/general-officer-assignments

[xxxi] http://www.voanews.com/content/sixty-five-hundred-coalition-troops-in-iraq-us-wants-more/3172721.html

[xxxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/652687/department-of-defense-dod-releases-fiscal-year-2017-presidents-budget-proposal

[xxxiii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/653572/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-canadian-minister-of-n

[xxxiv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/654672/readout-of-secretary-carters-meeting-with-deputy-crown-prince-and-minister-of-d

[xxxv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/655507/general-officer-assignments

[xxxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/655588/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-the-emirati-minister-o

[xxxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/715735/coalition-kills-2-foreign-fighters-in-iraq-oir-spokesman-says

[xxxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/656601/general-officer-assignments

[xxxix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/657534/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-bombing-in-turkey

[xl] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/658458/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-libya-airstrike

[xli] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/658511/general-officer-assignments

[xlii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/669095/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-serbian-hostages-in-libya

[xliii] http://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/February%202016%20AFG%20Map%20JPEG-01_4.jpg

[xliv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/671680/general-officer-announcements

[xlv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/682038/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[xlvi] http://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISIS%27s%20Regional%20Campaign%20MAR2016-01_16.png

[xlvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/688855/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-german-minister-of-def

[xlviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/691544/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-the-presidents-nomination-of-ge

[xlix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/691544/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-the-presidents-nomination-of-ge

[l] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/694035/general-officer-assignments

[li] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017DODPOSTURE_FINAL_MAR17UpdatePage4_WEB.PDF

[lii] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017DODPOSTURE_FINAL_MAR17UpdatePage4_WEB.PDF , p. 12

[liii] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017DODPOSTURE_FINAL_MAR17UpdatePage4_WEB.PDF , p. 13

[liv] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017DODPOSTURE_FINAL_MAR17UpdatePage4_WEB.PDF , p. 16

[lv] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2017DODPOSTURE_FINAL_MAR17UpdatePage4_WEB.PDF , p. 16 – 17

[lvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/698377/da-announces-deployment-of-fort-bragg-based-units

[lvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/700438/readout-of-deputy-secretary-works-meeting-with-danish-permanent-secretary-for-t

[lviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/703814/readout-of-deputy-secretary-works-meeting-with-norways-state-secretary-for-defe

[lix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/704104/readout-of-secretary-carters-call-with-the-kingdom-of-saudi-arabias-deputy-crow

[lx] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/705322/general-officer-assignments

[lxi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/707770/readout-of-secretary-of-defense-ash-carters-meeting-with-estonian-minister-of-d

[lxii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/708442/department-of-defense-publishes-inherent-resolve-campaign-medal-guidance

[lxiii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/709886/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-russia-video-conference

[lxiv] https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2016/04/05/president-obama-meets-combatant-commanders-and-joint-chiefs-staff

[lxv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/721116/general-officer-assignments

[lxvi] https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2016/04/13/president-obama-delivers-statement-isil

[lxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/721148/obama-counter-isil-campaign-accelerates

[lxviii] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/world/middleeast/ashton-carter-iraqi-officials-isis.html

[lxix] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/world/middleeast/us-plans-to-step-upmilitary-campaign-against-isis.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

[lxx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMMEv8UaIos

[lxxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXvrfmzH05M

[lxxii] http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2016/04/18/idaho–10-wing-deploys-operation-inherent-resolve/83191594/

[lxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU6QuBjANiM

[lxxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86-2OJqNmWU

[lxxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl_yRKs9so

[lxxvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN9moYkOyHY

[lxxvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc-7mHjD-Tw

[lxxviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyn7PEWmdfM

[lxxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spwHT0UfG2U ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz11ORkQxwY

[lxxx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyJR6mLJQA4

[lxxxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hck20jtn5ZE

[lxxxii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=715A5f2bxwk

[lxxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SOSI4Jbxyc

[lxxxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejFDF7wr_wU

[lxxxv] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/637802/dod-identifies-air-force-casualties

[lxxxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/637634/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-ash-carter-on-attack-against-us-service-membe

[lxxxvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n1bxTCpiJQ

[lxxxviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml9BnDYuwnY

[lxxxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhj28_eSDgY

[xc] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8q_LyIQPI

[xci] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/world/middleeast/isis-ramadi-iraq.html

[xcii] http://www.inherentresolve.mil/News/StrikeReleases?platform=hootsuite

[xciii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOYzhlSIK-8

[xciv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dcTsQtnsT0

[xcv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tedSmieC2Oc

[xcvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43TG2VmfcuI

[xcvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb9NFDvU0gU

[xcviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/641779/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[xcix] http://media.defense.gov/2016/Jan/18/2001335607/-1/-1/0/160118-D-XT155-002.JPG

[c] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFsttZhU68

[ci] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eN5vnS_NSY

[cii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55OUUrMbEUo

[ciii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IihM3fFwlnI

[civ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQmnFEFBTZA

[cv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PIC-7csbzo

[cvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/643431/dod-identifies-air-force-casualty

[cvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dwGTYbgUPU

[cviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZoRRKmujRc

[cix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/646338/dod-identifies-army-casualty

[cx] http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-isis-supply-lines-destroyed-extensive-russian-airforce-operations-1354-terrorist-facilities-targeted-over-7-day-period/5505288

[cxi] http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/JPG%20Russian%20Airstrikes%2029%20FEB%20-%2015%20MAR-01_5.jpg

[cxii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1E56Mkf_8s

[cxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNQHa0TLQqI

[cxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSbKaqtLKY8

[cxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRLZPqFgtJg

[cxvi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jrfM0Uj_8g

[cxvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgc_f2dJyfk

[cxviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l9Jgx0KHUo

[cxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRU7yDU9C1o

[cxx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZcEzDYrrPQ

[cxxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmEvB8QAwL4

[cxxii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjjpLlNFpI

[cxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUvB0KqxXg

[cxxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIrTGBFHMaM

[cxxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mOdyUOu9uk

[cxxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/688810/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-syria-airstrike

[cxxvii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdArmuVODY0

[cxxviii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/687305/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-airstrike-in-somalia

[cxxix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4QNu7Kl9qc

[cxxx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA4dxpZPMrU

[cxxxi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtYhuBO5lpM

[cxxxii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NXSj4bf1hU

[cxxxiii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHPJ3uLaUa4

[cxxxiv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aApCFfBIR5Y

[cxxxv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MtYKsoBOlQ

[cxxxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/698404/dod-identifies-marine-casualty

[cxxxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/698359/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-us-casualty-in-iraq

[cxxxviii] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/us/politics/marine-base-in-northern-iraq-is-confirmed-by-pentagon.html

[cxxxix] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/700454/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-yemen-airstrike

[cxl] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUlsgRqSEHk

[cxli] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkgRft0xAQ4

[cxlii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuYx9BeGIEs

[cxliii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX0-g8IfoaM

[cxliv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zuvLKDpR1k

[cxlv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7KkUOizhZc

[cxlvi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/711634/statement-from-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-on-airstrike-in-somalia

[cxlvii] http://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISIS%20Sanctuary%2031%20MAR%202016-01_2.png

[cxlviii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA14s5QzRxI

[cxlix] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwrpyUYeDHc

[cl] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS6p8QOcVX8

[cli] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/715735/coalition-kills-2-foreign-fighters-in-iraq-oir-spokesman-says

[clii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/715735/coalition-kills-2-foreign-fighters-in-iraq-oir-spokesman-says

[cliii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/716447/coalition-strikes-hit-isil-terrorists-in-syria-iraq

[cliv] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/717094/military-strikes-continue-against-isil-in-syria-iraq

[clv] http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/717091/b-52-stratofortress-joins-coalition-team.aspx

[clvi] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/717213/coalition-strikes-target-isil-terrorists-in-syria-iraq

[clvii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/720818/counter-isil-strikes-hit-terrorists-in-syria-iraq

[clviii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/721537/marine-corps-aircraft-deploy-to-turkey-for-operation-inherent-resolve

[clix] http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/04/14/world/middleeast/ap-ml-iraq-mosul-dam-.html

[clx] http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/04/15/a29-super-tucanos-see-first-action-afghanistan.html

[clxi] http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/722602/dod-identifies-air-force-casualty

[clxii] http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0XF1D5

[clxiii] http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-russia-calls-direct-syria-peace-talks-38478336

[clxiv] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/721629/number-of-isil-fighters-in-afghanistan-drops-significantly-official-says

[clxv] http://understandingwar.org/map/afghanistan-partial-threat-assessment-february-23-2016

[clxvi] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/720245/coalition-focuses-on-dismantling-fragmenting-isil-oir-spokesman-says

[clxvii] http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/720245/coalition-focuses-on-dismantling-fragmenting-isil-oir-spokesman-says

[clxviii] http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2014/0814_iraq/docs/March_2016_Airpower_Summary.pdf