Service & Sacrifice: ‘We’re Still There’
A snapshot of the burdens being shouldered by brave U.S. troops and military families around the world.
U.S. Marines conduct sniper sustainment training aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan in the Gulf of Aden on October 18, 2023.
Middle East
The brave men and women of the U.S. military have been targeted by Iran-backed terrorists at least 28 times since October 17.
As of this writing, the most recent reported attack was a drone strike on the al-Tanf garrison in Syria. While U.S. military personnel and contractors are stationed on the base, CNN reports that a service member from a different country was injured.
“There was one minor partner force casualty and minor damage to partner force infrastructure,” an unnamed defense official told the network.
Voice of America reports that “the attacks since October 17 on U.S. and coalition forces have resulted in 17 minor injuries to Americans in Syria and four minor injuries to American personnel in Iraq, with U.S. officials continuing to monitor any potential traumatic brain injuries.”
The graphic embedded below shows exactly where Iranian terrorist proxy groups have been attacking the U.S. military.
Iran and Axis of Resistance:
The Islamic Resistance in #Iraq—a coalition of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias—claimed responsibility for a one-way drone attack targeting US forces in #Syria on November 1.
The #Houthi movement may have conducted an attack targeting southern #Israel… https://t.co/GOrl3jdHTi pic.twitter.com/ioRS530NgO
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) November 2, 2023
“Iran’s objective for a long time has been to force a withdrawal of the U.S. military from the region,” Voice of America quoted a senior defense official as saying. “What I would observe is that we’re still there.”
As The Stream has been reminding readers since long before the horrific October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, thousands of U.S. troops were already stationed in the Middle East to fight remnants of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. This week at the Pentagon, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that the battle against ISIS will continue regardless of Iran’s efforts to drive the U.S. military out of the troubled region.
Pentagon Press Secretary, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, states the United States presence in Iraq and Syria are to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS [Daesh]. pic.twitter.com/VeNiBc99Ld
— Operation Inherent Resolve (@CJTFOIR) November 1, 2023
With 300 additional American troops on their way to the Middle East amid fears of a widening war between radical Islamic terrorist groups and Israel, Axios reports that about 45,000 U.S. military personnel and contractors are now serving across at least ten countries in the region. In addition to 2,500 in Iraq and 900 in Syria, there are about 13,500 Americans serving in Kuwait, 9,000 in Bahrain and 8,000 in Qatar.
U.S. troops and military contractors have been targeted in attacks by Iranian-backed militia groups since Hamas' attack against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The attacks could reverse efforts in recent years to reduce U.S. presence in the Middle East. https://t.co/a7nOI8fOmL pic.twitter.com/rEMyumnOa9
— Axios (@axios) October 31, 2023
As of this writing, the Biden administration’s response to the 28 attacks has been a single series of airstrikes last Friday in eastern Syria. Fox News reports that the U.S. military struck “a weapons depot and an ammo storage area believed to be used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.”
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Please continue to pray for all of our country’s valiant service members deployed to the Middle East, as well as their concerned families here at home.
Coming Home
After completing an undoubtedly dangerous deployment to the Middle East, a group of U.S. Air Force pilots were reunited with their overjoyed families this week in North Carolina.
U.S. Air Force pilots are welcomed back during a homecoming ceremony at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina on October 30, 2023.
Welcome home, heroes! Thank you for defending our freedom and security.
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the forthcoming I Have Your Back, the recently released Be Bold and co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on X @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.
