The Department of Defense on Sunday released its most recent report on civilian casualties resulting from coalition strikes in Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. DOD assessed 28 reports of civilian casualties and found that 45 civilians had died as a result of OIR artillery or airstrikes between November 2016 and March 2017. In addition, DOD announced 80 more civilian deaths related to OIR strikes since the beginning of the campaign in August 2014. The total number of OIR civilian deaths is now 352, the report states, from a total of 20,205 strikes since the beginning of the operation. Forty-two reports of civilian casualties remain open and under investigation by the department.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.