Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said the service has flown the majority of the airstrike sorties against ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Speaking at the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C., Tuesday evening, James said the Air Force has carried out more than 60 percent of all the recorded airstrike missions to date against ISIS forces, and more than 90 percent of all mobility, humanitarian lift, tanker refueling, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties. “With all due respect for … the important debate about ‘the boots on the ground,’ I’m grateful that we have so many fine boots in the air and an awful lot of those boots are United States Air Force,” she said. The campaign has made progress in attacking key aspects of ISIS operations, such as its oil refining capabilities, its training camps, as well as other sources of income. “But we’ve got to get all our heads around the fact that we’re in this for the long ballgame.”
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…
