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A Desert War on ISIS, Fought From a Floating City

Slide 1 of 12

Pilots on the deck of the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. More than a dozen Navy F/A-18 warplanes roar off the carrier every day to attack Islamic State targets in support of Iraqi troops battling to regain ground lost to the militants in June.

Credit...Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
  • Slide 1 of 12

    Pilots on the deck of the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. More than a dozen Navy F/A-18 warplanes roar off the carrier every day to attack Islamic State targets in support of Iraqi troops battling to regain ground lost to the militants in June.

    Credit...Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

ABOARD THE U.S.S. CARL VINSON, in the Persian Gulf — More than a dozen Navy F/A-18 warplanes roar off this aircraft carrier every day to attack Islamic State targets in support of Iraqi troops battling to regain ground lost to the militants in June.

These Navy pilots face an array of lethal risks during their six-hour round-trip missions. Surface-to-air missiles and other enemy fire lurk below, as the downing of an Iraqi military helicopter late Friday underscored. About 60 percent of the aircrews are still learning the ropes on their first combat tours.

The United States-led coalition improvises how the Iraqis call in airstrikes: Iraqi troops talk by radio to American controllers at Iraqi command centers, who in turn talk to the Navy pilots to help pinpoint what to hit. Senior commanders have said that placing American spotters with the Iraqi troops would be more effective, but they have yet to recommend that step knowing that President Obama opposes it.

In the initial weeks of an air campaign that started in August, Iraq’s troops were tentative. Fighters from the Islamic State, also called ISIS or ISIL, quickly learned not to move in large numbers to avoid being struck. Three out of every four missions still return with their bombs for lack of approved targets.

But in recent days, the Iraqis have been advancing, forcing ISIS to fight more in the open. The airstrikes are severing the militants’ supply lines, killing some top leaders and crimping their ability to pump and ship the oil that they control.

“It wasn’t going so well there for a while, but the momentum seems to have reversed,” said Cmdr. Eric Doyle, a 41-year-old F/A-18 Hornet pilot from Houston who also flew combat missions in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

About one quarter of the 1,200 total airstrikes in Iraq and Syria so far have been flown off a carrier — the other missions began from bases around the gulf — an enduring symbol of American power in the Middle East.

After ISIS fighters rolled south into Mosul six months ago and threatened Baghdad, the Pentagon rushed the carrier George H.W. Bush to the Persian Gulf from the coast of Pakistan, where it was flying missions in support of American troops in Afghanistan.

Within two days, the carrier was sending surveillance and reconnaissance flights over Iraq and Syria. It was weeks before the United States ironed out arrangements with regional allies to allow land-based planes to carry out strikes. The Vinson relieved the Bush in mid-October, and will stay until next spring.

“You don’t have to ask anybody for permission to use a carrier,” said Vice Adm. John W. Miller, commander of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. “It’s five acres of sovereign U.S. territory.”

This ship has an unusual place in the annals of the campaign against terrorism. Some of the first airstrikes of the Afghan war in October 2001 were by jets from the Vinson; nearly a decade later, it was here that Navy SEALs brought Osama bin Laden’s body after the raid in Pakistan, and buried it at sea after religious rites on the lower hangar deck.

The flight deck is the bustling hub of this nuclear-powered behemoth, which is home to 5,200 sailors and officers for nearly 10 months at a time. Sailors in light helmets and goggles, mostly in their early 20s, scurry about in vests and long-sleeve shirts color-coded to their jobs — red shirts handle bombs, purple shirts handle fuel, yellow shirts handle the flights.

Racks of bombs and missiles rise from elevators below deck amid the din. MH-60 Seahawk search-and-rescue helicopters buzz overhead on their way out to sea.

It is like a crowded suburban parking lot, except these are $57 million jets taxiing for takeoff with 500-pound laser-guided bombs tucked under their wings. The slightest misstep around these high-performance jets and turboprop planes could be fatal. “Beware of Jet Blast, Propellers and Rotors” is emblazoned in large yellow letters on the ship’s superstructure, lest anyone forget.

It is a dangerous business, even when the ship is not at war. In September, while training in the western Pacific, two F/A-18s from the Vinson collided in midair soon after takeoff. One pilot was rescued in the accident, but the other was killed. His body was never found in waters nearly three miles deep.

About 20 percent of the 100 daily flights are strike missions into Iraq and Syria. The others are a mix of training, supply, reconnaissance and other flights, usually between 10:30 a.m. and 11 p.m.

About an hour before takeoff, fighter pilots in flight suits stride to their planes for a final inspection. Tiny black bombs are stenciled below the cockpit for each weapon dropped from that aircraft. A giant steam-powered catapult then hurls the jets off the ship, from a dead start to more than 125 miles an hour in less than three seconds.

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The Evolution of ISIS

How has ISIS, a 21st-century terrorist organization with a retrograde religious philosophy, spread from Iraq to Syria, Libya and beyond?

MUSIC <SOT: OBAMA> “ISIS is a terrorist organization.” ISIS, ISIL, I-S, DAESH —- THESE NAMES ALL REFER TO THE SAME MILITANT GROUP — THE ISLAMIC STATE. CALL THEM WHAT YOU WANT, BUT BY SUMMER 2014, THEY WERE KNOWN WORLDWIDE. SOT: OBAMA: “These terrorists are desperate for legitimacy ... especially their attempt to use Islam to justify their violence.” MUSIC HEADLINE: The Story of ISIS Nats of ISIS THEY DEFY THE STEREOTYPE OF SCATTERED TERRORISTS HIDING IN CAVES. PARTS OF ISIS ARE ORGANIZED LIKE A LIGHT ARMY, OTHERS AS SOPHISTICATED TERRORIST CELLS. IT’S ALL AIMED TOWARDS ONE GOAL: TO REDRAW THE MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST BY CREATING A NEW STATE — AN ISLAMIC STATE. <SOT of jihadist> “We will break the barrier of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, all the countries.” SO HOW DID THIS ACTUALLY HAPPEN? HOW DID A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION END UP IN CONTROL OF MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF TERRITORY ACROSS SYRIA AND IRAQ? THIS - IS THE STORY OF ISIS. HOW THEY BUILT A 21ST-CENTURY TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, MADE IT SELF-FINANCING, AND HOW THEY ARE NOW EVOLVING UNDER A NEW SET OF CHALLENGES. MUSIC CHANGE TO MARK TRANSITION ISIS EMERGED IN PART FROM THE ASHES OF AL QAEDA IN IRAQ. ITS LEADER IS ABU BAKR AL-BAGHDADI, AN IRAQI PREACHER WHO FOUGHT IN THE INSURGENCY. IN 2004, HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE U-S BUT WAS CONSIDERED INSIGNIFICANT ENOUGH THAT THEY RELEASED HIM. Nats of Baghdadi appearance BAGHDADI LED HIS GROUP TO SYRIA WHERE THEY ESTABLISHED A STRONGHOLD. AMID THE CHAOS OF THE CIVIL WAR — ISIS SOON BECAME THE MOST POWERFUL TERRORIST FACTION. NAT OF ISIS patrolling Raqqa THE SYRIAN CITY OF RAQQA BECAME THE GROUP’S CAPITAL BY MID-2013. THERE, THEY INSTITUTED REAL GOVERNANCE: ESTABLISHING SHARIAH COURTS, TAKING OVER ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS, EVEN PUTTING UP STREET SIGNS. NAT OF ISIS patrolling Raqqa - directing traffic or whatnot TO SUPPORT THIS GROWING INFRASTRUCTURE, THEY FOCUS ON FINANCES: TAKING CONTROL OF OIL RESOURCES AND BECOMING SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPERS. THEY HAVE SECURED MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RANSOMS FROM MANY WESTERN COUNTRIES. ON THE BATTLEGROUND, THEY ARE MORE PROFESSIONALIZED THAN MOST OF THEIR COMPETITORS. ISIS’S RANKS INCLUDED MANY OFFICERS - AS WELL AS SOLDIERS - FROM SADDAM HUSSEIN’S ARMY WHO DRAW ON DECADES OF MILITARY EXPERIENCE. Nats of drones ANOTHER DISTINCTIVE ADVANTAGE IS HOW ISIS USES TECHNOLOGY TO WOO FIGHTERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD - AND IN MANY LANGUAGES. RECRUITMENT VIDEO IN ENGLISH THEY ARE STRATEGIC ONLINE, USING FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND YOUTUBE. THEY RELEASED VIDEOS FEATURING A CAPTURED BRITISH JOURNALIST HOSTING SLICKLY-PRODUCED “TALKS” TRYING TO CONVINCE WESTERN AUDIENCES ON THE MERITS OF JIHAD. Sot from Cantlie tapes “Over the next few programs, I’m going to show you the truth.” THIS KIND OF PROPAGANDA IS WORKING. ISIS NOW BOASTS ABOUT 3,000 FOREIGN FIGHTERS FROM 80 COUNTRIES <SOT: ISIS canadian from video - “I was like any other regular Canadian. I watched hockey.” MUSIC TRANSITION NATS OF BIG EXPLOSION FROM THE FIGHTING IN MOSUL UPON THEIR RETURN TO IRAQ IN JUNE 2014, THEIR FIRST MAJOR MILITARY VICTORY WAS THE FALL OF THE COUNTRY’S 2ND LARGEST CITY — MOSUL. IT SHOCKED THE WORLD. SOT: From Reuters, Arabic, (Arabic) MAN FLEEING FROM MOSUL, NIBHAN JASSIM, SAYING: “People are in the streets, and people are lying dead on the streets. THEN THE MILITANTS QUICKLY SEIZED MORE IRAQI TOWNS, ENCROACHING ON BAGHDAD. Soundbite from Baghdad resident “The security situation is deteriorating.” A SECOND HIGH-PROFILE MOMENT WAS THE FORCIBLE EXPULSION OF THE YAZIDIS — A RELIGIOUS MINORITY IN IRAQ. SOME WERE KILLED AND MORE THAN 30,000 WERE FORCED TO FLEE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. SOUNDBITE (English) Will Parks, UNICEF Chief Field Officer: “50-thousand people we estimate, are stuck in the mountains at this time ... [BUTT SOTS] They’re sleeping out in the open, they’ve got no food, no water, no medical supplies.” ANOTHER KEY TO THEIR EXPANSION IS SHEER BRUTALITY. THERE ARE THE MASS EXECUTIONS AND UNMARKED GRAVES OF MOSTLY FELLOW MUSLIMS. MANY REPORTS OF RAPE AND OF WOMEN BEING SOLD ALSO CONTINUE TO SURFACE. NATS FROM “SLAVE MARKET DAY” selling of Yazidi girls ISIS’S BRUTAL TACTICS - WITH REGULAR BEHEADINGS AND THE KILLINGS OF CIVILIANS - WAS EVEN CRITICIZED BY AL-QAEDA’S LEADERSHIP, WHICH FORMALLY SEVERED TIES IN FEBRUARY 2014. MUSIC CHANGE TO SIGNAL TRANSITION Natpop of us airstrikes BUT SINCE AUGUST 2014, RESISTANCE TO ISIS GREW. FIRST, THEY WERE DEALT A SIGNIFICANT BLOW ONLINE. NATS OF ISIS ON YOUTUBE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES — NOW MORE ADEPT AT SPOTTING ISIS’S VIDEOS — TAKE THEM DOWN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. Nats of missiles launching SECOND, ON THE MILITARY FRONT, AN INTERNATIONAL AIRSTRIKE CAMPAIGN HAS SLOWED THE GROUP’S ADVANCE. SOT FROM OBAMA ON AIRSTRIKES. 4:45 “American forces will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.” PRESIDENT OBAMA DEPLOYED MORE NON-COMBAT TROOPS TO IRAQ IN EARLY NOVEMBER. Nats of missile strikes AND IN SYRIA - WHERE THE HEADQUARTERS REMAIN - AIRSTRIKES HAVE DESTROYED MANY OIL REFINERIES. NOW, INSTEAD OF STORMING INTO TOWNS WITH A SHOW OF BRAVADO, ISIS FIGHTERS MOVE IN SMALL GROUPS AND RELY ON SLEEPER CELLS. NATS OF Iraqi tribes FINALLY, A TURNING POINT CAME FROM SOME LOCAL TRIBES, VILLAGERS AND IRAQI TROOPS- WHO ARE BANDING TOGETHER TO PUSH THE GROUP BACK. NATS OF FIGHTING ISIS’S MOMENTUM HAS STALLED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE LAST SUMMER, BUT THEY REMAIN IN CONTROL OF LARGE SWATHS OF TERRITORY. THEY’VE KEPT THE WORLD’S ATTENTION LARGELY THROUGH A STEADY STREAM OF INCREASINGLY SHOCKING VIDEOS AS WELL AS INSPIRING VIOLENCE WORLDWIDE. <SOT: Coulibady> “You attack the Islamic state, we are attacking you.” BUT NOW — UNDER SO MUCH CONTINUED PRESSURE — THE QUESTION IS, HOW WILL ISIS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE? ENDIT

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How has ISIS, a 21st-century terrorist organization with a retrograde religious philosophy, spread from Iraq to Syria, Libya and beyond?

By then, the pilots have studied their routes, the weather and the targets assigned by an American air command center in Qatar, a tiny gulf state. Targeting specialists have selected bombs big enough to do the job but mindful of the risk to civilians.

The allied jets are operating under some of the strictest rules intended to prevent civilian casualties in modern warfare. “If there’s any doubt, we do not drop ordnance,” said Capt. Matt Leahey, a 44-year-old Naval Academy graduate from Lewiston, Me., who commands the 2,100 personnel and 63 aircraft in the carrier’s air wing.

The Vinson has steamed to the northern part of the gulf to shorten flight times as much as possible, but it is still 450 miles to Baghdad and much farther to Syria. The F/A-18s burn 5,700 gallons of fuel on a typical mission, and pilots must refuel in midair three or four times.

The jets fly well above 20,000 feet, out of the range of most antiaircraft guns. ISIS has surface-to-air missiles and has downed a few Iraqi helicopters, so pilots cannot fly as low as they would like to get the best look at their targets. “Manpads are a real threat,” said Commander Doyle, referring to Man-Portable Air Defense Systems.

In some cases, pilots are striking specific, planned targets such as headquarters buildings. But most of the Vinson’s missions are targets of opportunity while safeguarding Iraqi troops below.

Pilots fly over designated grid areas, typically 60 miles square, searching for fighters, artillery and other signs of the enemy. An aerial armada of surveillance planes with names like Joint Stars and Rivet Joint track militant movements on the ground and intercept their electronic communications, feeding a steady stream of information to pilots.

“It can be pretty boring, then all of sudden it gets heated and you’ve got a whole lot of work to do in 120 seconds,” said Commander Doyle, who has flown eight strike missions so far. “We’re trying to find things and kill them.”

Working with the American air controllers in the Iraqi command centers — special operations troops in contact with Iraqi or Kurdish ground troops — pilots say they are aiming to weaken ISIS’ war machine in a fight they caution could take months or even years.

“We’re taking away the enemy’s ability to reinforce and resupply,” said Lt. Adam Bryan, 31, an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot from northwestern Connecticut. “It’s a pretty dynamic situation.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: Striking at ISIS, From 5 Acres of U.S. Territory. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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