President
Barack Obama greets Gen. Joseph Votel in March at the State Department
in Washington. Votel is the new leader of U.S. Central Command.
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida – The war against the
Islamic State group, which President Barack Obama has insisted will not
become another protracted U.S. ground conflict in the Middle East,
adopted a new air of permanence here this week, with a top defense
official suggesting the number of Americans deployed to Iraq and Syria
soon may increase.
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter had agreed the U.S. should increase its military presence in Iraq – officially capped at 3,870 troops but with an actual tally of around 5,000.
On Wednesday, Dunford said President Barack Obama may make that decision very soon.
[READ: Iraqi Officials: Battle for Mosul Has Begun]
"I brought it to the secretary, the secretary will engage with the president on what the president has asked us to do, which is to come to him with ideas that will allow us to maintain that momentum," Dunford told reporters here after change-of-command ceremonies for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. "Those recommendations are being made, and the president will have an opportunity to make some decisions here in the coming weeks."
The momentum Dunford referenced now centers on the Iraqi military's offensive to retake the key city of Mosul, which saw a shaky start amid reports of desertions and disorganization in the face of an entrenched enemy. Defense officials have dismissed these reports as little more than the usual battle tempo at the beginning of a campaign.
The Iraqi strategy involves the army's partnering with fighting groups like the Shiite Muslim-dominated militias known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or PMUs, and the Kurdish peshmerga. But this task, much larger and more complex than retaking Ramadi at the end of last year, will require increased Western firepower and support, defense officials say.
Symbolically, this conflict – which began without a name – has now secured its place in American war history, with Carter announcing Wednesday the creation of a new medal to award to troops taking part in the war against the Islamic State group.
Those who have served in Iraq and Syria for 30 consecutive days or 60 days total, or those who have been wounded, killed or engaged in combat against terrorist groups in the the two countries, can now be awarded the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal.
Carter announced the new medal during the change-of-command ceremony
for MacDill-based U.S. Central Command, shortly after the White House
affirmed its creation through an executive action. Troops participating
in this conflict had previously received the Global War on Terrorism
Expeditionary Medal, which they will still get for contributions to the
conflict outside Iraq and Syria, such as those based in Qatar or Jordan.
Carter said the medal comes at a fitting time for U.S. military forces as they continue to accelerate their campaign against the Islamic State group.
The design of the medal itself drips with symbolism for U.S. goals in the region, as it features a chain mail-clad hand impaling a scorpion with a dagger. "A scorpion is a symbol for treachery and destructive forces," a Defense Department description of the new award says.
On the medal's reverse side is an eagle surrounded by an Arabian star design. It hangs on a ribbon of blue, teal, sand and orange, inspired by colors of the the Ishtar Gate from the ancient city of Babylon. A version of the gate has been reconstructed and put on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Carter, Dunford, and other top military officials, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, came to MacDill to oversee a notable transition of America's combat leaders – one that represents the shift in the way this White House has prioritized waging war.
U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel – whose career has included leading the elite 75th Ranger Regiment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more recently leading U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM – took over Central Command. The command, which oversees all U.S. war efforts in the Middle East, is considered one of the most dynamic and complicated combat positions in the military.
Votel inherited the job from Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, whose extensive experience in airborne and infantry units yielded a more traditional match for a major combat command.
[ALSO: Marine’s Death Reveals More Americans in Iraq Than Previously Thought]
Votel, meanwhile, ceded his former charge to Army Gen. Raymond "Tony" Thomas, who like Votel has run the shadowy Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, which manages the military's most secretive yet increasingly chronicled units, like the Army's Delta Force and the Navy's SEAL Team Six.
The methodical advancement of experienced special operators across the military's chain of command emphasizes the extent to which the White House relies on these shadowy commandos to train allies and carry out operations in secret, and Thomas on Wednesday reaffirmed the need to maintain that secrecy in war.
"There's a balance there, and certainly, the American public have a need to know what we're doing and that we're doing it in the right way, consistent with American values," he told reporters. But, he added, "we've had a rash of true-name disclosures here recently, which I don't see serving any purpose other than to put those people in jeopardy."
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter had agreed the U.S. should increase its military presence in Iraq – officially capped at 3,870 troops but with an actual tally of around 5,000.
On Wednesday, Dunford said President Barack Obama may make that decision very soon.
[READ: Iraqi Officials: Battle for Mosul Has Begun]
"I brought it to the secretary, the secretary will engage with the president on what the president has asked us to do, which is to come to him with ideas that will allow us to maintain that momentum," Dunford told reporters here after change-of-command ceremonies for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. "Those recommendations are being made, and the president will have an opportunity to make some decisions here in the coming weeks."
The momentum Dunford referenced now centers on the Iraqi military's offensive to retake the key city of Mosul, which saw a shaky start amid reports of desertions and disorganization in the face of an entrenched enemy. Defense officials have dismissed these reports as little more than the usual battle tempo at the beginning of a campaign.
The Iraqi strategy involves the army's partnering with fighting groups like the Shiite Muslim-dominated militias known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or PMUs, and the Kurdish peshmerga. But this task, much larger and more complex than retaking Ramadi at the end of last year, will require increased Western firepower and support, defense officials say.
Symbolically, this conflict – which began without a name – has now secured its place in American war history, with Carter announcing Wednesday the creation of a new medal to award to troops taking part in the war against the Islamic State group.
Those who have served in Iraq and Syria for 30 consecutive days or 60 days total, or those who have been wounded, killed or engaged in combat against terrorist groups in the the two countries, can now be awarded the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal.
Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal.
Carter said the medal comes at a fitting time for U.S. military forces as they continue to accelerate their campaign against the Islamic State group.
The design of the medal itself drips with symbolism for U.S. goals in the region, as it features a chain mail-clad hand impaling a scorpion with a dagger. "A scorpion is a symbol for treachery and destructive forces," a Defense Department description of the new award says.
On the medal's reverse side is an eagle surrounded by an Arabian star design. It hangs on a ribbon of blue, teal, sand and orange, inspired by colors of the the Ishtar Gate from the ancient city of Babylon. A version of the gate has been reconstructed and put on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Carter, Dunford, and other top military officials, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, came to MacDill to oversee a notable transition of America's combat leaders – one that represents the shift in the way this White House has prioritized waging war.
U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel – whose career has included leading the elite 75th Ranger Regiment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more recently leading U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM – took over Central Command. The command, which oversees all U.S. war efforts in the Middle East, is considered one of the most dynamic and complicated combat positions in the military.
Votel inherited the job from Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, whose extensive experience in airborne and infantry units yielded a more traditional match for a major combat command.
[ALSO: Marine’s Death Reveals More Americans in Iraq Than Previously Thought]
Votel, meanwhile, ceded his former charge to Army Gen. Raymond "Tony" Thomas, who like Votel has run the shadowy Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, which manages the military's most secretive yet increasingly chronicled units, like the Army's Delta Force and the Navy's SEAL Team Six.
The methodical advancement of experienced special operators across the military's chain of command emphasizes the extent to which the White House relies on these shadowy commandos to train allies and carry out operations in secret, and Thomas on Wednesday reaffirmed the need to maintain that secrecy in war.
"There's a balance there, and certainly, the American public have a need to know what we're doing and that we're doing it in the right way, consistent with American values," he told reporters. But, he added, "we've had a rash of true-name disclosures here recently, which I don't see serving any purpose other than to put those people in jeopardy."
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