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SOUTHWEST ASIA, June 7, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 70 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed three vehicles and a front-end loader.

-- Near Raqqa, 17 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions, two ISIS bridges, two vehicles, an ISIS boat and an ISIS communications tower.

-- Near Tabqah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Tanf, a strike engaged a pro-Syrian regime tactical unit, destroyed two artillery systems and an anti-air artillery system and damaged a tank.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted seven strikes consisting of 35 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three ISIS staging areas and two vehicles.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units; destroyed 20 fighting positions, two heavy machine guns, a supply cache, a mortar system, a vehicle and a rocket-propelled grenade system; damaged a command-and-control node, an ISIS supply route and a fighting position; and suppressed a mortar team.

-- Near Rawah, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed four ISIS staging areas, an ISIS headquarters, and an ISIS warehouse.

June 5 Strikes

Additionally, eight strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 5 that closed within the last 24 hours.

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, seven strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two ISIS staging areas, two fighting positions, a vehicle-borne-bomb factory, an ISIS tunnel, an ISIS sentry post, a vehicle and a command-and-control node.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed an ISIS command-and-control node, a heavy machine gun and an artillery system.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Iraq, Syria - Department of Defense

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Stratton, 35th Fighter Wing

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan, June 7, 2017 One Two ... Three ... He counts each detainee as they enter his unit's prison camp in Iraq.

"We were doing a head count; in-processing new members," Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shannon Hutto, a 35th Security Forces Squadron flight chief here, said. "Then I heard a thump."

He looked up to see a rocket shimmering overhead and heading in his direction.

!!BOOM!!

"It landed about 30 feet from me," he said.

Hutto grabbed his M-9 Beretta pistol from its holster after spotting the detainees and realizing they were running in the direction of the gate.

"I'm going to have to shoot them all," he thought, but then he realized where they were going and reholstered his weapon. "They were helping their friends and family, assessing the injured and finding ways to triage and help."

Looking around, Hutto found only three or four other U.S. service members not hiding under barriers crying in horror and shock. He grabbed them, told them where to go, what they needed and what needed to be done to start saving lives.

"You don't realize how important self-aid buddy care is until you're strapping on some medical latex gloves, blood everywhere -- on you, your patient, the ground -- and you're saving people," he said. "I practiced what I learned at Basic Military Training on every person I could find."

Leading Under Fire

Hutto said it was in that moment he realized he was meant to lead.

"I was an airman first class back then, but it was in that one single act that let me know I can do this -- I can be a leader," he said.

Hutto joined the Air Force June 7, 2005. He said he wanted to see the world, get an education and serve his country. Coming from small-town life in Enterprise, Alabama, he said, "I didn't want to just sit around and get in trouble -- I needed structure -- I needed a life."

Twelve years later, his list of medals is likely double that of most in his squadron, but he's got a story for each -- he'll be the retired veteran that kids flock to for war stories.

"I wouldn't go that far," he laughed as he looked to the floor, eyes glazing and finally found the strength to say, "But I do have some stories; many of which I wouldn't share with kids."

Hutto said he's learned training saves lives.

"I've seen a lot of tragedy, and it occurs due to a lack of drive and training," he explained. "We need to really focus on hands-on, tangible and operational training that makes us more effective, increasing our productivity."

Set the Bar High

All that training takes strong leaders willing to set the bar high above the comfort level of their subordinates, Hutto said, adding that leaders should never be afraid to hold their people accountable.

"Just be honest with them," he continued. "Effective leadership is not defined by making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes. This is why I mold defenders to perform under pressure with hands-on training and leadership by example."

He's got the experience; with three deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, all of which were between eight and 11 months long, far exceeding the Air Force-standard, six-month deployment.

"Hopefully none of my airmen will ever have to experience what I've gone through, but if they do, then I am positive they'll be ready," he said.

Deployments, temporary assignments and permanent changes of station all epitomize the life of a service member. Hutto's seen more combat than most airmen see in their entire career, and spent months at a time, totaling years, away from his four daughters and wife, Air Force Staff Sgt. Melanie Hutto.

"Not only is he setting an example for his airmen, but he's setting an example for our daughters as well," Melanie said as a big smile swept across her face. "He's always been there for us, even when he couldn't physically be with us."

Hutto said it's his kids who helped him prioritize his life.

"You start figuring out what's most important," he said as he explained his morning routine of bottling milk, changing diapers, adding, "It's all about finding a path and getting ready for the next stage in life."

A Rough Start

His first few years of Air Force life included nonjudicial punishment, copious piles of paperwork and, finally, the realization that he realized he just needed to slap himself and wake up.

"As an airman, I did things the hard way," Hutto explained, lamenting how his technical school military training leader told him he'd never make it past his first enlistment. "But look at me now, I'm about to put on master sergeant, I've got a loving wife, daughters, friends [and], family and subordinates who respect me. You live, you learn and push forward."

The Air Force expects its leaders to build airmen capable of adapting to evolving Air Force mission capabilities while being an active, visible leader. Whether on patrol, at his squadron or at home, Hutto inspires others to be leaders.

"He's my inspiration," Melanie said as she glances down at her own rank. "I've got to catch up with him, so I'm always learning from my husband how to be a better Air Force leader."

But at the end of the day, Hutto said it's about his family first and foremost.

"My whole life is about making the lives of my children better."

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Face of Defense: Iraq Experience Shapes Airman's Leadership Style - Department of Defense

The Kurdish region of the war-torn country has significant oil reserves and its pipeline with Turkey means the Yes campaign will face fierce opposition from Baghdad

IRAQs Kurdish region will hold a bombshell independence referendum in September, despite fierce opposition from Baghdad.

Iraqi Kurds largely support the idea of an independent state, but a yes vote in September would only be the start of a contentious project that would face major external and internal challenges.

Reuters

The date for the independence referendum shall be Monday, September 25, 2017, Kurdish leaders said in a statement.

The statement added: It will be on that day when the people of the Kurdistan region, as well as those living in the disputed areas, will cast their votes on whether they accept independence.

The decision was made at a meeting attended by Kurdish leader Massud Barzani and representatives of the regions political parties.

Iraqi Kurdistan is made up of three provinces that are run by an autonomous regional government and protected by their own security services, providing the basis for a potential state.

But there are major political and economic obstacles to Iraqi Kurdish independence.

The presidency statement said the referendum would include areas of Kurdistan outside the administration of the region, which were termed disputed areas.

This refers to swathes of northern territory that are claimed by both Kurdistan and Baghdad, including the key oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Opposition in Baghdad to Iraqi Kurdistan becoming independent would become even greater if the region tried to take disputed territory along with it.

Iraqi Kurdistan, like the rest of the country, depends almost entirely on revenue from crude sales to provide government funds.

Kurdistan exports most of its oil via a pipeline leading to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, but also overland through Turkey by tanker truck.

A major external challenge to independence is potential opposition from Turkey.

Getty Images

Turkey has a large Kurdish minority with which the government has been engaged in a multi-decade armed conflict, and Ankara would almost certainly fear that Iraqi Kurdish independence could fuel increased calls for a similar move within its territory.

Due to how Iraqi Kurdistan exports its oil, Turkey potentially has both an effective veto over independence in general, and a ready means to apply huge pressure to any fledgling state's economy if it did split from Iraq.

Given the poor state of relations between Ankara and Baghdad, Iraq is likely to oppose part of its territory being turned into a state under Turkey's influence.

Internally, Iraqi Kurdistan has been hit hard by low oil prices to the point that it has stopped paying some government employees for extended periods.

And while the concept of Kurdish independence has broad appeal, Iraqi Kurds are deeply divided politically, which could lead to paralysis in a new state.

The regional presidency's statement said that "the political parties... agreed to resolve some of the outstanding political and economic issues prior to the date of the referendum".

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Kurds in Iraq are to hold a referendum on independence on September 25 - The Sun

In this era of anti-immigrant rage, nothing has infuriated me more than its impact on Iraqis who helped the U.S. military at great risk to their lives.

So, as President Trump tweets up a storm demanding that the courts restore his travel ban on (mainly Muslim) immigrants, Im happy to write a good-news immigration story. It concerns the reversal of a cruel injustice the U.S. bureaucracy perpetrated on the Albaiedhani family, whose sons worked as interpreters for the U.S. Army.

This reversal reflects the dedication of Peter Farley, the U.S. Army officer who went out on daily patrols with Wisam Albaiedhani. Like so many U.S. officers who have worked tirelessly to rescue their terps, Farley recognized what Americans owe to those Iraqis and the shame of failing to pay that debt.

The Albaiedhani family paid a high price for its close association with U.S. forces. Radical Shiite militiamen shot Khalid Albaiedhani in the face and sent Wisam a bullet wrapped in cloth; they murdered an uncle who had also worked as an interpreter. The brothers escaped to the United States, helped by Farley, and found jobs, but had been trying for years to rescue their parents and younger siblings in Baghdad.

After five years of extreme security vetting, the family was told it had cleared all hurdles for visas; the parents sold their home and all their possessions and were prepared to fly from Baghdad for Massachusetts last August, only to have the U.S. government suddenly withhold and then deny their visas no reason given, no chance of appeal. Wisam got the final notice last year on the day before Thanksgiving.

Such denials are almost never reversed. Until this week, the family was living in limbo in Baghdad, crowded in with relatives, under intense fear of militia reprisals with little hope. Then, suddenly, came word, via the brothers pro bono lawyer working with the International Refugee Assistance Project, that the denial had indeed been rescinded, pending one last security check.

We still cant believe it. My dad had heart issues in the last three weeks and was hospitalized in Baghdad, but he was jumping like a little kid, Wisam told me by phone from Haverhill, Mass. We are trying to balance excitement with caution, Farley told me, given the memory of how things can suddenly take a bad turn.

So how did this near miracle happen? Much of the credit goes to Farley, a former elementary school teacher now working for Veterans Affairs in Rhode Island, who volunteered to fight in Iraq because he felt it was his patriotic duty. He wound up training Iraqi military police, with Wisam constantly beside him.

Farley mobilized a petition in support of the family on Change.org that garnered 22,000 signatures from all over the country. He asked signatories to contact their local representatives and ask them to send letters of support for the Albaiedhanis.

He also reached out to Massachusetts senators and congressmen, in his and in Wisams home districts, and beyond to send letters of support, tracking down Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, a four-tour Iraq veteran on Facebook. Moulton replied personally and invited Wisam to speak at a Veterans Day commemoration in his district, where many of the vets thanked Wisam for his service.

Not a lot of Americans know what these vets went through, Wisam told me last year. Not a lot of Americans know what we interpreters went through.

Farley knows. Wisam was a veteran, he told me, with emotion. Wisam and his family sacrificed more because they had to stay in Iraq and I could come home to the USA.

Most powerful among their support letters, says Farley, was one from a Gold Star mother, Ida Gonzalez, whose fallen son, Specialist Michael L. Gonzalez, also trained Iraqi police. She has become a friend of Wisams, Farley says, despite the fact that her son was killed by masked men in the name of Islam. She was able to differentiate between [that and] good Muslims who want the best for their country.

All this material was forwarded in support of the Albaiedhanis case. When agencies know there are eyes on it they do pay attention to individual cases, says Farley. But this Iraq vet is fearful that every day Wisams family still has to wait for their visas increases the chance that they may suffer militia reprisals.

And Wisam tells me hes concerned that Trump is again pushing for a broad travel ban against Muslims, or at minimum a temporary halt to refugee resettlement. Im afraid he could push this through the Supreme Court and this would put my family in jeopardy, he said. My family has been living in limbo since August, and we hope it wont take more years for them to get here.

From his lips to the Supreme Court justices ears.

Published: June 7, 2017 3:01 AM EDT | Updated: June 7, 2017 5:21 PM EDT The Philadelphia Inquirer

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From Iraq, a good news immigration story - Philly.com

WASHINGTONArmy Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said he supports additional troops in Afghanistan and keeping a residual force in Iraq should Mosul be retaken from the Islamic State during a Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing Wednesday.

Now, one week past a bombing in Kabul that left 150 people dead, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked the chief, looking toward the next decade, if he would support an increase in troop presence in Afghanistan as an interim solution.

Milley said he would support an increase but would not offer specific numbers as they are currently under analysis as part of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis major strategic readiness review.

Graham also asked Milley if he believed the U.S. should leave a residual force in Iraq should Mosul be taken from the Islamic State. The chief said he would make such a recommendation if Iraq's government would consider it.

Milley was less forthcoming as to whether more troops are needed in South Korea as North Korea grows increasingly cantankerous and active in its missile testing.

That is a very difficult question full of all kinds of nuances. I cant give you a yes or a no, Milley said, adding, the situation in Korea calls for a forward presence with the right capacity to respond to a belligerent North Korea, but that may not mean more troops.

The bottom line: the Army will likely continue to play a growing role in stabilizing hot spots around the world. And recent history has taught that drawing down or pulling out troops from war-torn countries before the government is stabilized leaves a vacuum for the resurgence of terrorist organizations to gain footholds and power, making it more likely U.S. forces will stick around unstable regions in the future.

And Graham noted the kind of force projection necessary to suppress conflict could be dangerously hampered should sequestration remain in effect.

Milley said roughly 50 percent of the demand from combatant commands and 70 percent of unexpected urgent demand are met by Army forces. He added there are roughly 180,000 soldiers deployed in 140 countries conducting training, deterring opponents, conducting humanitarian assistance, participating in peacekeeping missions and supporting combat operations.

The Armys fiscal year 2018 budget request funds for the total Army, to include active, National Guard and Reserve, at 1,018,000 troops.

The wish list known formally as an unfunded requirements list is typically sent to Congress by each of the services to help guide Capitol Hill in considering additional funding beyond the budget request Congress might provide as lawmakers begin to draft the policy and spending bills.

He said he believed the right size for the Army now would be around 540,000 to 550,000 troops in the active force, 353,000 to 355,000 for the Guard and 205,000 to 209,000 for the reserve.

Yet, more clarity on the right size of the force across the U.S. military services will come from Mattis strategic readiness review. The review is due out later this summer, according to defense officials.

Excerpt from:
Army chief supports increased force presence in Afghanistan and Iraq - DefenseNews.com