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Archive: July, 2016

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks to Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, in Baghdad, July 31, 2016. Dunford is visiting Iraq to assess the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro

July 31, 2016

Iraqi Leaders Showing Confidence, Optimism in ISIL Fight, Dunford Says

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — The biggest change in Iraq is the sense of confidence and optimism that leaders have “that absolutely didn’t exist last fall,” Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford said after a full day of meeting with Iraqi, U.S. and other coalition leaders.

U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel Commander of U.S. Central Command, meets with U.S. Marine Sgt. Maj. Clifford Wiggins, Command Sgt. Maj. 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and members of the Jordanian Armed Forces during Exercise Eager Lion 16 near Amman, Jordan on May 22, 2016. Eager Lion 16 is a US military bi-lateral exercise with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan designed to strengthen relationships and interoperability between partner nations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lauren Falk 5th MEB COMCAM/Released)

July 28, 2016

Votel Impressed by Iraqi Leaders’ Rising Confidence in Counter-ISIL Fight

WASHINGTON — Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel said the Iraqi government and its military are confident in the approach they are taking against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Two F/A-18E Super Hornets undergo preliminary checks on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Gulf, July 26, 2016. The USS Eisenhower and its Carrier Strike Group are deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Theodore Quintana

July 27, 2016

OIR Official: Captured Info Describes ISIL Operations in Manbij

WASHINGTON — Laptops and other items that coalition forces have recovered around Manbij, Syria, are providing much information about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's organization, an Inherent Resolve spokesman said.

U.S. soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 320 Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) fire an M777 howitzer from Kara Soar Base, Iraq, during a night operation in support of the Iraqi army on June 3, 2016. Fire missions are one way the coalition assists the Iraqi army to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Advise-and-assist teams enable Iraqi security forces as they prepare for upcoming operations by sharing intelligence and helping them develop security strategies and targeting plans. Army photo by Spc. Jaquan P. Turnbow

July 23, 2016

Task Force Strike Soldiers shine a guiding light

SOUTHWEST ASIA — It was after midnight when an Iraqi intelligence officer partnered with the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment in northern Iraq received a phone call from his brother. The message was terse: His brother lived in a nearby city currently occupied by ISIL, and he was leading a large group of civilians away from the location. The group was in trouble; they had come across rough terrain and suddenly became lost.

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refuels a USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II over Turkey, Jan. 6, 2016, to support Operation Inherent Resolve. The operation is the coalition intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corey Hook

July 22, 2016

Coalition Continues Strikes to Defeat ISIL, OIR Spokesman Says

WASHINGTON — Army Col. Christopher Garver , spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said the coalition has conducted 73 strikes inside Iraq over seven days in support of Iraqi security forces.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left back, listens to remarks from French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, right back, during a meeting of defense ministers and senior leaders from the coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at Joint Base Andrews, Md., July 20, 2016. DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantley

July 20, 2016

Carter: Defense Ministers Agree on Next Steps in Counter-ISIL Fight

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter briefed reporters on a meeting he hosted for the representatives of more than 30 nations to discuss the ongoing military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and plans for upcoming offensives.

efense Secretary Ash Carter speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 12. Carter visited Afghanistan to meet with government leaders about the Resolute Support mission. (DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Tim D. Godbee)

July 13, 2016

Carter discusses 3 major decisions regarding Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Ash Carter discussed three major decisions that the United States has made regarding Afghanistan during a news conference yesterday in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

U.S. Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), fire an M777 howitzer at Kara Soar Base, Iraq,in May. According to Defense Secretary Ash Carter, they'll be joined soon by an additional 560 U.S. troops. (U.S Army photo by Sgt. Paul Sale)

July 11, 2016

Carter: 560 U.S. troops to deploy to Iraq

During his visit to Baghdad today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with Iraqi leaders, coalition commanders and U.S. troops and also announced that the United States, in close consultation with the Iraqi government, will deploy an additional 560 troops to Iraq to assist in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to a DoD news release.

Tech. Sgt. Brent Spotts, 455th Expeditionary Operational Support Squadron, at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan. Spotts is forward deployed from the 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron in Bagram. As the only civil engineer in Jalalabad, Spotts is responsible for the airfield electrical systems, structure, pavements and equipment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Justyn M. Freeman)

July 7, 2016

8,400 U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan through January

The situation in Afghanistan remains “precarious,” President Barack Obama said here today, and that is why he will keep 8,400 U.S. service members in country through the end of his term.

After air assaulting into a landing zone, Spc. Khalid Hermez, from Detroit, pulls security as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs the landing zone. U.S. Soldiers from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade and the 34th Iraqi Army Brigade performed a joint air assault mission and patrol to check on living conditions of a small Iraqi village in 2009. (Army photo by Sgt. Travis Zielinski)

July 5, 2016

Linguist returns to Iraq after 20-year odyssey

With Iraq in the clutches of Saddam Hussein, one man made the critical decision to leave his native country. It took him 20 years but he finally returned, serving with the U.S. Army, now attempting to rebuild his nation. For Spc. Khalid Hermez, from Detroit, linguist, Company F, 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division