US Army III Corps formally took command of the coalition fight against ISIS during a ceremony this week, taking over from V Corps. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of US Central Command, passed the colors of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve to Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland from Lt. Gen. James Terry during a Sept. 22 ceremony, saying V Corps has “done what was necessary” in standing up the fight against ISIS, according to a US Central Command release. III Corps will lead more than 60 nations that have assigned more than 1,500 troops to advise and assist Iraqi forces at five locations across the Iraq. “To those who say that Iraq is hopeless, that the Middle East is a Gordian knot that can never be untangled, I say you’re wrong,” MacFarland said at the ceremony. “Defeating Daesh [another term for ISIS] and improving stability in the region are difficult tasks, but not beyond the scope of human capability.”
Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon, spent his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 19 pressing his civilian bona fides to lawmakers, with some pledging opposition to the waiver Austin would need to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary. Austin spent 40 years in the military…