Harriers begin striking ISIS targets....WHERE IS THE OPERATIONAL F-35 SQUADRON???

via The Hill

U.S. forces are now simultaneously striking the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf for the first time, the Navy announced Thursday.

U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers embarked on the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer began striking ISIS from the Arabian Gulf on Thursday, joining U.S. aircraft striking ISIS from the carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean Sea.


"Today, U.S. naval forces are striking ISIL simultaneously from both the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf," said Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, using another acronym for ISIS.

"These missions from the flight decks of USS Boxer, like those from the USS Harry S. Truman, demonstrate the inherent flexibility of naval forces," he said.

The Truman, which is nearing the end of its tour, recently left the Arabian Gulf and began striking the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria from the Mediterranean.

Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the commander of the air war against ISIS, said on May 27 that the departure had led to a temporary reduction in airstrikes, but the Navy has been eager to highlight the carrier is still conducting strike from the Mediterranean.

The Harriers are from the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 166, which is the aviation combat element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 14th MEU is part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which arrived in the Arabian Gulf on April 5.

God bless those guys and best of luck to them.  Hopefully everyone will come back home unscathed.

Next.  This is as predictable as heat in the summer time.  Whenever the Obama administration begins to receive criticism of its handling of the war on terror we suddenly see an uptick in military activity.  There is no plan.  There is no rhyme or reason to it.  There is no goal.  The only thing that is accomplished is the visual of activity.  Call it activity for activity sake and to give the impression of work being done.  Its totally false, its playing with people's lives but its the way that this administration works.

Last.

Where are those operational F-35's?

If the F-35 performs as we've been told.  If its such a leap ahead and game changer then why not use it here?  If a Harrier goes down and these savages capture one of our pilots then they will suffer badly before being killed.  If the F-35 will change the way we operate and if it will kill everything in its jungle then why keep it on the shelf?

The Deputy Commandant for Aviation has been barnstorming the nation selling the plane.  Why not put our pilots in what he calls the best plane available?  Surely when facing an enemy like ISIS, we would want to minimize the chances of failure for our pilots wouldn't you?

Unless he lied when he said that the plane is ready for combat....