F-22s’ First Action

By John A. Tirpak, Marc V. Schanz and Amy McCullough
F-22 Raptors assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., and deployed to the Persian Gulf region, took out an ISIS command and control center in Ar Raqqah, Syria, Monday night, marking the first time the fifth generation...

Syria Strikes Include F-22 Debut

By John A. Tirpak
No coalition aircraft were lost in a series of “very successful” strikes against a range of terrorist targets in Syria and Iraq Monday night, Joint Staff Director of Operations Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville reported Tuesday during a Pentagon press...

Syria to be Years-Long Campaign

By John A. Tirpak
The campaign to systematically destroy the ISIS organization, accomplished mainly through air strikes and in coordination with Iraqi, Peshmerga, and coalition ground forces, will take years, said Joint Staff Operations Director Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville. Monday night’s strikes represent...

Obama: Coalition Action Includes Five Syrian Neighbors

By John A. Tirpak
Monday’s military action against ISIS targets in Syria represents a coalition effort of at least five Syrian neighbors acting in concert with the United States, and enjoys bipartisan support from Congress, said President Obama on Tuesday morning. Speaking briefly from...

Gulf Allies Participate in Syria Strikes

By Marc V. Schanz
Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates participated in or supported airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Monday night, according to President Obama and participating governments. Jordan, which has fighter bases within close range of several...

What Happens Now

By John A. Tirpak
Joint Staff Operations Director Lt. Gen. William Mayville on Tuesday laid out the tasks ahead for the newly created coalition fighting ISIS extremists, also known as ISIL, in Syria and Iraq. “Last night’s strikes are the beginning of a credible...

JTACs Not Needed

By Amy McCullough
The Pentagon still is not deviating from the promise to keep American boots off of Syrian soil. That includes joint terminal attack controllers, even though Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville, director of operations on the Joint Staff, acknowledged Tuesday that...

Pride of the Neighborhood

By John A. Tirpak
Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. David Goldfein said Tuesday he thinks there will be “a great deal of pride” among the Middle East countries that participated in the attacks on ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq Monday night. Speaking at...