Tag Archives: Operation Inherent Resolve

CNO Gilday: Pentagon Weighing Reducing Middle East Aircraft Carrier Presence After Afghan Withdrawal

CNO Gilday: Pentagon Weighing Reducing Middle East Aircraft Carrier Presence After Afghan Withdrawal

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday use the 1MC to address the crew aboard the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Billings (LCS 15). Gilday visited Naval Station Mayport to engage with Sailors, speak to local Navy leadership and tour a number of commands in the area. US Navy Photo

The Pentagon is rethinking what naval presence in the Middle East will look like after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan later this year – in particular, carrier strike groups, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said on Thursday. Read More

Paparo Takes Command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, Cooper Now Leading U.S. 5th Fleet

Paparo Takes Command of U.S. Pacific Fleet, Cooper Now Leading U.S. 5th Fleet

Vice Adm. Sam Paparo, left, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), is relieved by Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, right, during a change of command ceremony presided over by Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, onboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, on May 5, 2021. US NAvy Photo

The former commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East is now leading the U.S. Pacific Fleet, according to the Navy. Read More

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Could Extend Stay in Middle East to Cover Afghanistan Withdrawal

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Could Extend Stay in Middle East to Cover Afghanistan Withdrawal

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Setogiri (DD 156), back, operates alongside aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Arabian Sea on April 19, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group current stop in the Middle East could be extended to help cover the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday. Read More

VIDEO: Eisenhower Strike Group Now in Middle East After Suez Canal Transit

VIDEO: Eisenhower Strike Group Now in Middle East After Suez Canal Transit

Sailors watch from the flight deck as the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) transits the Suez Canal, on April 2, 2021. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated with an April 3, 2021 statement from U.S. 5th Fleet.

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is in the Middle East via a Suez Canal transit after operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, U.S. 5th Fleet announced on Saturday. Read More

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Launching Anti-ISIS Missions from Mediterranean, French Carrier Takes Helm of CTF 50

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Launching Anti-ISIS Missions from Mediterranean, French Carrier Takes Helm of CTF 50

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) sails behind the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), March 3, 2021. US Navy photo.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is launching air missions as part of the international coalition’s anti-ISIS effort, the Navy announced on Wednesday. Read More

Pentagon Identifies Marine Raiders Killed in Iraq

Pentagon Identifies Marine Raiders Killed in Iraq

Capt. Moises A. Navas, 34, of Germantown, Md. (left) and Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, 34, of Simi Valley, Calif. (right). US Marine Corps Photo

The Pentagon identified two North Carolina-based Marine Raiders who were killed in Iraq on Sunday as part of the ongoing campaign against ISIS, the Defense Department announced on Tuesday. Read More

Marines Prepared to Use F-35Bs in Middle East Combat If Needed; No Other Naval Aviation Nearby

Marines Prepared to Use F-35Bs in Middle East Combat If Needed; No Other Naval Aviation Nearby

F-35B Lightning II, attached to the “Avengers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, sit on the flight deck of Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) on Sept. 4, 2018, while transiting the Indian Ocean with San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) during a regularly scheduled deployment of Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). The Essex ARG and 13th MEU is the first U.S. Navy/Marine Corps team to deploy to U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations with the F-35B Lightning II. US Navy photo.

The Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters are the only ship-based fixed-wing aircraft in the Middle East right now, and service leaders say the new jets are ready to handle any fight in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan they may be tasked with. Read More