WEBVTT

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(intense music)

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- What's little known about that operation that took

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just over two months to free Manbij from the control

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of ISIS is that air crews flying U.S. Air Force

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^MQ-1b's and MQ-9's provided over 11,000 hours

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^of persistent attack and reconnaissance in direct support

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of the partnered force on the ground.

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That's over 500 sorties from our cockpits in the continental

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United States.

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- I think the most difficult thing about being a sensor

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^operator during this offensive was keeping mentally

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^and physically focused on what was going on.

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Because at any given time we were sent over to help out

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if we were nearby, and I always had to be mentally

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prepared to release weapons and to get rid of the enemy

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assets, to make sure our guys on the ground were safe.

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- One of the things that's important to remember about

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^going after and really getting to the heart of what was

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^going on in Manbij is that the people that we were fighting

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were not the residents of Manbij.

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Ultimately, we wanted, as much as possible I think as a

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fighting force, for them to have a home to go back to.

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- Most of the action was on the outskirts of the town,

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so a lot of it was small villages, open country.

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^As they pushed in towards July, they actually were able to

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^encircle the city and began the offensive in a more

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^difficult environment and we were able to provide

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full-motion video and a better situational awareness

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of the battlefield.

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We also don't have to do aerial refueling.

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We were able to stay on station for 20 hours at a time,

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and provide a constant overwatch for the friendly forces.

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- One of the things that I saw in Manbij that I thought

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was truly unique was the proximity where we can be

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a lot more precise with the weapon, we can have the

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effect that we need to have, which is to strike

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at enemy forces, to strike at enemy vehicles,

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enemy weapons caches or something like that

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without turning an entire building into rubble.

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- [Case] MQ-1 and nine air crews employed

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over 300 Hellfires.

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That's over 40% of the total of kinetic strikes executed

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by any coalition platform.

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- It was very rewarding for my squadron to see the results

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of their disciplined use of air power

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(shouting, horns honking)

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when, in late August, we saw the video that was coming

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out of Manbij, the video of the men and their children

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reclaiming their city.

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They were very happy to be free from ISIS rule

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^And we were absolutely proud to play a critical part

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^in the liberation of this city, and to making

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their lives better.

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- [Case] For the past 70 years the Air Force has been

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breaking barriers as a member of the finest

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joint war fighting team on the planet.

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And what that joint war fighting team accomplished in Manbij

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with our coalition partners in the air, and partnered

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forces on the ground, is evidence of the fact

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that the military defeat of ISIS is inevitable.

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(dramatic flourish)