Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle pushed back on some critiques of the military campaign against ISIS, saying he has “frustration” with those who claim airpower isn’t working because by all metrics the opposite is occurring. “In fact, airpower is doing fantastic,” he told the audience at Thursday’s panel on the combat air forces at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. US and coalition airpower has effectively taken away the ability for ISIS to mass forces, destroyed its ability to produce and sell oil on the black market, and to command and control forces in Iraq and Syria. “People talk about the influx of fighters, but what do you do with them when you can’t mass them or command and control them,” he said, noting comparisons with the air campaign in Afghanistan are not appropriate, because the combat is different and requires a different approach. Though more work remains, US Central Command, the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and US Air Forces Central Command have been “very successful” in coming together to coordinate with allies to both continue striking targets and holding? ground, as well as enable allies, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, to successfully target ISIS forces, he said.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
