The U.S.-led coalition welcomes a diverse and sometimes adversarial group of nations joining the fight against ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The brutal regime controls a large swath of terror in Syria and Iraq, and has demonstrated inhumane acts of torture. Islamic State's release of a video showing Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh burnt alive in a cage has triggered a public backlash in Jordan and sharpened the focus of Arab allies contributing to the war effort, which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE stopped flying airstrikes over Iraq shortly after the Jordanian pilot was shot down in a mission over Syria and captured by ISIS in December. However, it has sent a squadron of F-16 fighter jets to Jordan, resuming its participation in U.S.-led airstrikes on ISIS "to stop the brutal terrorist organization that showed all of the world its ugliness ... through abominable crimes that exposed its false allegations and drew outrage and disgust from the Arab peoples."

Joining the coalition is France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which has started military operations against ISIS. The carrier is accompanied by an attack submarine, several frigates, including a British anti-submarine frigate, and a refueling ship. The Charles de Gaulle must jostle for space with the American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, and has to contend with oil tankers and container ships sailing up and down the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest maritime routes. The carrier, with 12 Rafale and nine Super Etendard fighters, is spending eight weeks in the Gulf alongside the USS Carl Vinson, significantly increasing France's regional air capabilities. The Rafale is a twin-engine, canard delta-wing, multi-role fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation in France, replacing the Mirage I, II, III, and 2000 fighter versions from 1955 to 2006. The Super tendard tendard is French for battle flag is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault-Breguet for service with the French Navy. It first flew in October 1974 and entered French service in June 1978. France has nine fighter jets, a maritime patrol aircraft and a refueling plane at its base in the United Arab Emirates as part of its Iraq mission. It also operates six Mirage fighter jets from Jordan. With the Charles de Gaulle, there are now more than 3,000 French military personnel involved in the operation.

The air missions over Iraq and Syria have blunted the advance of ISIS, and support ground troops from Iraq, Turkey, and other nations. A French pilot nicknamed "Sharpy" said "with our means of reconnaissance, including models of infrared video cameras, we can see personnel and vehicle movements and give (allies) a better idea of what is happening on the ground." He continues "The planes have a role to play in identifying how the enemy moves, changes position. It's really another way of waging war. The planes photograph potential future coalition targets and assist Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces below with real-time intelligence on IS positions." On mission, warplanes reach their mission zone around 90 minutes after takeoff and overfly the country for three hours at a time, scouring for potential strike targets to support Iraqi forces fighting IS. Once a target is identified, pilots must get authorization from the U.S.-led coalition's central command before engaging. U.S. officials assert the coalition has killed more than 6,000 ISIS fighters since the start of the campaign, according to a CNN news release. "That's a significant loss when you consider that ISIS currently has a core force of 9,000 to 18,000 fighters, according to U.S. intelligence estimates."

Although not an "official" member of the coalition, Egypt has engaged with retaliatory airstrikes against violent extremists in Libya. The strikes come after ISIS posted a new online video purporting to show the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians. Senior military commanders have warned in recent months of signs that ISIS attempting to gain influence inside Libya. Counterterrorism officials in Washington caution that although ISIS "may not have a unified network of militants inside Libya, they do have a significant number of supporters and sympathizers in Libya pose a serious security threat inside the country."

Some 60 nations have participated in the coalition and have flown hundreds of missions against targets in Iraq and Syria, according to the U.S. State Department. Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said of the coalition: "Everybody in this coalition contributes what they can, and we're grateful for all of that."

Please remember that we have troopers in harm's way all around the world. They are our line of defense for our way of life here in the "Good Ole United States"... land of the free and home of the brave.

Jack Evensizer is a resident of Dalton Gardens.