Jan. 19, 2017

EC-130s maintain constant presence in Afghanistan 15 years later

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN — All around the dimly-lit tent are enduring symbols of a constant presence. A name scrawled across a wooden wall, a lengthy list of deployment dates written underneath, updated year after year. A library stacked with books and games to pass the time. A built-in couch labeled “Snooze Town.”

Jan. 19, 2017

U.S. Airstrikes Kill 80 ISIL Fighters in Libya, Carter Says

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter said U.S. precision airstrikes on two Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant training camps near Sirte, Libya, are estimated to have killed more than 80 enemy fighters.

Jan. 19, 2017

5th EAMS keeps C-17s ready for fight

01.17.2017 — C-17s are used frequently in the U.S. Air Force Central Command area of responsibility to get everything from clothing to bombs to a variety of locations around the region. As a 386th Air Expeditionary Wing tenant unit, the 5th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron flies its Globemasters an average of 2,500 sorties a year from the wing’s flightline. These sorties are responsible for moving 180,000 personnel and 80,000 tons of cargo, said Capt. John Goodwin, 5th EAMS Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge.

Jan. 18, 2017

Combined Joint Operations Center-Baghdad brings Coalition together for Operation Inherent Resolve

BAGHDAD, IRAQ — The Combined Joint Operations Center -- Baghdad (CJOC-B) brings together Coalition members of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command -- Operation Inherent Resolve, in an international partnership to assist the Iraqi Security Forces in the on-going effort to defeat the Islamic State of the Levant in Iraq. The CJOC-B, located on Union III, Baghdad, Iraq, is the control center where Iraqi and Coalition leadership come together in a single operations center. It joins collect military expertise of American, French, Spanish, Italian, British, Australian and Iraqi militaries under one roof to foster effective communication between each section's Coalition and their Iraqi counterparts.

Jan. 18, 2017

Multi-national Coalition fire training course strengthens team fight against ISIS

SOUTHWEST ASIA — Deployed French and U.S. Air Force fire fighters competed in a firefighting confidence course to ensure operations against Da’esh continue safely at an undisclosed location, Jan. 17, 2017. Firefighters were required to perform ladder climbing, hose dragging, ax swinging, equipment hoisting and rescue carrying during the timed event while donned in

Jan. 17, 2017

Iraqi Forces Liberate Mosul University from a Deeply Entrenched ISIL

WASHINGTON — Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Air Force Col. John Dorrian said Iraqi security forces this week have continued steady progress against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including the liberation of Mosul University, a sprawling complex on the northeast side of Iraq’s second-largest city where the enemy was deeply entrenched.

Jan. 17, 2017

Dunford Joins Fellow NATO Chiefs of Defense in Security Environment Meetings

BRUSSELS — Dunford Joins Fellow NATO Chiefs of Defense in Security Environment Meetings

Jan. 17, 2017

France Deploys Troops Globally in Counter-Extremism Fight

PARIS — France is committed to stopping the spread of violent extremism and has deployed significant military resources worldwide in the fight, a French military official told reporters in Paris.

Jan. 17, 2017

New munitions replace cluster bombs on Central Command battlefield

UDAIRI RANGE, KUWAIT — A new artillery warhead is retiring an outdated cluster-bomb round on the battlefields for U.S. Army Central in the Middle East and Southwestern Asia.

Jan. 17, 2017

101st Soldier, Coalition extract Iraqi teammate from enemy lines

CAMP SWIFT, IRAQ — Before he enlisted, Spc. Erik Salmon was a traveler fond of seeing new places and experiencing different cultures. When the 26-year-old intelligence analyst deployed to Iraq in May, 2016, with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), he found himself trapped in tiny Camp Swift behind dirt barriers, concrete walls and concertina wire.