USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), left, and the French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) transit the Northern Arabian Gulf on March 8, 2015. US Navy Photo
French carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) has left the Persian Gulf after about two months of strike operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) militants, according to local press reports. Read More
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) prepare the flight deck for flight operations. US Navy Photo
The Carl Vinson carrier strike group (CSG) has left U.S. Central Command and has passed its strike missions over Iraq and Syria to a new CSG centered on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), the service announced on Friday. Read More
Members of the hardline al Shabaab Islamist rebel group hold their weapons in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, January 1, 2010. Somalia’s hardline Islamist rebel group al Shabaab said on Friday it was ready to send reinforcement to al Qaeda in Yemen should the U.S. carry out retaliatory strikes, and urged other Muslims to follow suit. Reuters Photo
Creating franchises among groups claiming affiliation with al Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is among the biggest change in international terrorism, two leading experts told the Atlantic Council on Thursday. Read More
Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) transit in formation during a divisional tactics exercise.PCRON 1 is deployed.
A new report on what the United States should be doing militarily in the Persian Gulf recommends proposing a mutual defense treaty with U.S. partners there to deter adversaries, such as Iran with its nuclear ambitions and its use of proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, to destabilize friendly nations in the region. Read More
Aircraft sit on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on Oct. 29, 2014. US Navy Photo
The crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) finished clearing clogged seawater intakes to allow the ship to depart for a Middle East deployment, Navy officials told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
U.S. Central Command Commander General Lloyd J. Austin III on Oct. 17, 2014. Defense Department Photo
To “pivot away from the Middle East is naïve at best,” the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) said as he opened a hearing on developments in the Central Command area of responsibility and the president’s request for a congressional authorization for the use of military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL). Read More
Retired Marine Gen. John Allen speaking at The Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. Atlantic Council Photo
Quoting the Iraqi prime minister that “we’ll do Mosul when we’re ready,” the special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL said, “We’ve got to resist putting a timeline on it.” Read More
The following is the Feb. 11, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, “The ‘Islamic State’ Crisis and U.S. Policy.” Read More
A Sailor signals an AH-1Z Viper helicopter attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 163 (Reinforced) to land aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) during routine flight operations in the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 4, 2015. US Navy Photo.
The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are scheduled to return to Naval Station San Diego, Calif. on Wednesday after a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operation that included airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq, the Navy announced Monday. Read More
French carrier Charles de Gaulle. US Navy Photo
French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) has entered the Persian Gulf and could soon start strike missions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) fighters, defense officials told USNI News on Friday. Read More
