The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group’s ongoing deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve is being extended 30 days. The Navy announced the extension of the original seventh-month deployment in a release Friday. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said the move was “central to our ongoing effort to dismantle and roll-back terrorist networks in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere,” according to the release. During a Monday briefing at the Pentagon, Richardson said the move doesn’t reflect a deficiency in airpower in OIR. “There’s just a recognition of the contribution [of the carrier group],” he said. But OIR airpower wasn’t the only factor the DOD considered when deciding to keep the carrier group on station. “I think it would be very narrow to consider this just in terms of sorties and that sort of thing,” Richardson said. “There’s a broader maritime security that the strike group lends to the region—stability, assurance of allies, that sort of thing—that is also an important part of this extension.” (See also: Tracking Airpower in the AOR.)
The U.S. conducted a drone strike in Iraq on Dec. 3, as the American troops there continue to be targeted by Iranian-backed militants. The strike took place near Kirkuk as the militants were preparing to attack U.S. troops in northern Iraq, a U.S. official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.…