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The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross fires a tomahawk land attack missile while conducting naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea, April 7, 2017. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert S. Price

April 6, 2017

Trump Orders Missile Attack in Retaliation for Syrian Chemical Strikes

WASHINGTON — The United States fired Tomahawk missiles into Syria in retaliation for the regime of Bashar Assad using nerve agents to attack his own people.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Henry Garcia, deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and assigned to 583rd Forward Support Company, loads a vehicle for transportation near Irbil, Iraq, March 21, 2017. Army photo by Sgt. Josephine Carlson

April 6, 2017

Residents Returning to Normal Lives in Eastern Mosul, OIR Spokesman Says

WASHINGTON — Thousands of residents of eastern Mosul have returned home and “the Iraqi government is working hard every day to improve the quality of life," the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman said.

KUWAIT - Elite military special operations forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council,  and the U.S. conducted a simulated rapid response to the hijacking of the motor tanker, or oil tanker, the Hadiyah, April 3, in Kuwait territorial waters. Special forces teams from the GCC, and U.S. Naval Special Warfare and rigid-hull inflatable boat teams simulated an air and sea-borne rapid insertion, search and seizure of the occupied tanker and its hijackers, and the safe release of the tanker crewmen. The raid was a cumulative joint exercise that tested the participants’ tactical skills and abilities to operate cohesively in an operational mission with our GCC partner nations. Exercise Eagle Resolve is the premier U.S. multilateral exercise within the Arabian Peninsula. Since 1999, Eagle Resolve has become the leading engagement between the U.S. and GCC nations to collectively address the regional challenges associated with asymmetric warfare in a low-risk setting.

April 6, 2017

US and Gulf Cooperation Council elite special operations forces simulate raid on hijacked tanker

KUWAIT — Elite military special forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the U.S. conducted a simulated rapid response to the hijacking of the motor tanker, or oil tanker, the Hadiyah, April 3, in Kuwait territorial waters.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis participates in an honor cordon welcoming Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi to the Pentagon, April 5, 2017. DoD photo by Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith

April 5, 2017

Mattis, Egyptian President Discuss Mideast Security Issues

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis highlighted Egypt’s importance in promoting stability in the Middle East during a Pentagon meeting with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sissi.

Civilian and military personnel from Gulf Cooperation Council nations and the U.S. conduct chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response training as part of exercise Eagle Resolve 17, April 02, 2017, in Kuwait. In this hypothetical scenario, munitions loaded with a mustard gas chemical agent landed near a mosque resulting in 5-10 casualties. After detecting and identifying the chemical agent, response personnel deployed, triaged, evacuated and treated casualties, and secured the area. The exercise tests participant's ability to respond as a combined joint task force. Exercise Eagle Resolve is the premier U.S. multilateral exercise within the Arabian Peninsula. Since 1999, Eagle Resolve has become the leading engagement between the U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council nations to collectively address the regional challenges associated with asymmetric warfare in a low-risk setting. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Francis O’Brien)

April 5, 2017

Terrorist attacks and active shooters: US and Gulf Cooperation Council military practical drills during exercise Eagle Resolve

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Military and civilian personnel from the Gulf Cooperation Council nations conducted tactical counterterrorism drills as part of exercise Eagle Resolve, March 28, 2017, near Kuwait International Airport.

Iraqi federal police secure a city street in West Mosul, Iraq, March 2, 2017. The breadth and diversity of partners supporting the coalition demonstrate the global and unified nature of the endeavor to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve is the global coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull

April 5, 2017

Stopping Flow of Foreign Fighters to ISIS ‘Will Take Years,’ Official Says

WASHINGTON — Intelligence sharing and strategic patience are key to countering the flow of foreign terrorist fighters supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center’s Directorate for Strategic Operational Planning said.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Wayne Troxell, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, poses with a young Syrian Democratic Forces soldier near Kobani, Syria, April 4, 2017.

April 5, 2017

Chairman’s Senior Enlisted Advisor Visits U.S. Troops, Syrian Democratic Forces

Chairman’s Senior Enlisted Advisor Visits U.S. Troops, Syrian Defense Forces

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lawrence "Shane" Colton, an attack helicopter pilot assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, was shot down in Baghdad, Iraq, when his helicopter responded to a fuel convoy under attack April 11, 2004. His wife, Inge Colton, and other spouse survivors will be honored on Gold Star Spouse Day April 5. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Photo)

April 5, 2017

Gold Star Spouses Day: Honoring spouses of fallen service members April 5

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — While many Americans were hunting Easter eggs or enjoying holiday brunch, Inge Colton was getting the most devastating news of her life.On Easter Sunday, April 11, 2004, she and her 11-year-old stepson, Lance, learned that her husband, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lawrence "Shane" Colton, an attack helicopter pilot assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion,

Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Donald J. Trump,Tom Bossert, the president’s homeland security advisor, and Douglas A. Silliman, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq, and Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, meet with Service Members at a forward operating base near Qayyarah West in Iraq, April 4, 2017. DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro

April 5, 2017

Dunford: Iraqis, Coalition Have Adapted, Continue Attacking ISIS

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Iraqi and coalition forces will learn from the civilian casualty incident of March 17 and continue to support Iraqi forces taking the fight to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Mosul, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

April 4, 2017

Dunford, Kushner Visit U.S., Iraqi Forces Near Mosul

QAYYARAH WEST AIRFIELD, Iraq — Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Jared Kushner, senior advisor to President Donald J. Trump, received briefings from American and Iraqi service members during a visit to a base 10 miles from the front line in Mosul.