In the COVID-19 pandemic, our heroes are healthcare professionals, essential workers, and scientists. On Memorial Day, though, it’s also important to remember our troops — especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
But our service members’ sacrifice is an abstraction when the average citizen has little idea where we are fighting and why. Our military’s broader missions don’t get much public attention, and our elected leaders struggle to describe them in easily digestible soundbites. Indeed, our complex war against transnational jihadists defies tidy abbreviation. The days of a discrete “war in Iraq” are gone. Our “war in Afghanistan” rages on, but is vastly reduced. The “war on terror” as a catch-all term is uselessly ill-defined.
Yet, small contingents of troops remain in harm’s way in over half a dozen hot spots, helping allies fight branches of al Qaeda and the Islamic State that aim to kill Americans on our home soil and abroad.
Policy-wise, the lack of public awareness poses a double danger. When voters learn about these conflicts only when a service member is killed, a reactive Congress may pull funding, or the president may abruptly withdraw, even from worthy missions. The absence of public pressure may also permit a marginally useful mission to drag on indefinitely. These dangers have persisted through both the Obama and Trump administrations. But beyond policy, it’s hard to memorialize our fallen when they (and their missions) are invisible.
So, from a U.S. Marine who personally participated in several of these conflicts, here’s where our troops are fighting and the rationale for each mission.
Afghanistan
Around 10,000 U.S. troops support the Afghan government against the Taliban and ISIS while peace negotiations proceed intermittently. A decade ago, 100,000 troops served on the ground. Now, only a few hundred participate in front-line combat missions alongside Afghan commandos, mainly against ISIS.
Most troops provide training, logistics, and air support to the Afghans. Without our help, the fragile Afghan government risks being overwhelmed by Islamists. The resulting anarchy might permit jihadist groups to carve out a sphere of influence and export terrorism, forcing us to return later. Since last year, 15 service members, all U.S. Army soldiers, have fallen to hostile action in Afghanistan. An additional six from the Air Force and Army died in non-hostile incidents.
Iraq
About 6,000 service members partner with Iraqi forces and hunt the remaining ISIS cells. The Iraqi military, though far from perfect, is more capable now than in 2014, when it collapsed in the face of an ISIS blitzkrieg.
Our troops now train the Iraqis to prevent ISIS from making a resurgence. We also present a latent challenge to Iran’s expansionist designs on the region. It’s a risky situation, as seen when Iran-backed militias targeted our forces in December, precipitating our killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January. Leaving would open the door for Iraq to become an Iranian satellite and trigger the reemergence of the ISIS. Last year, we lost five service members to hostile action: three Marines, a soldier, and an Air National Guardsman. A U.S. interpreter was also killed. Three others died in non-hostile incidents.
Philippines
Our treaty ally faces a longstanding Islamic separatist movement that pledged allegiance to the ISIS and adopted an international jihadist ideology. A small rotational force of U.S. commandos helps the Filipino military keep the pressure on.
Somalia
About 600 troops in Somalia and more in neighboring Djibouti and Kenya bolster the fledgling Somali government’s fight against the al Shabab militia, which has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda. If we left, al Shabab would have a freer hand in taking over southern Somalia, from where it could export terrorism worldwide, inspiring terror acts in the West. Three Americans were killed by al Shabab at a nearby base in Kenya this year.
Syria
Several hundred troops mop up ISIS remnants and provide support and protection to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who sacrificed immensely to help us defeat ISIS over the past several years. One U.S. service member died there in a non-hostile incident last year.
West Africa
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger suffer from insurgencies led by local al Qaeda and ISIS factions. These groups attack capital cities, seek out Americans to kidnap or assassinate, and nearly took over the whole country of Mali in 2013. Meanwhile, in Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria, Boko Haram and its ISIS-affiliate offshoots pursue a murderous campaign that threatens regional stability. The 1,200 U.S. troops in the region provide support to some of these local governments struggling to maintain order. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger in 2017.
Yemen
The country’s civil war enters its fifth year, a proxy conflict between regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran. The United States provides weapons and logistical support to the Saudis but otherwise focuses more narrowly on counterterrorism. Over the years, U.S. warplanes and small numbers of troops have conducted raids against al Qaeda and ISIS cells. This year, a U.S. airstrike there killed the regional al Qaeda leader.
Over 150,000 other U.S. troops serve far from home on the high seas and in Japan, Korea, Europe, the Persian Gulf, and many other friendly nations around the world. By deterring threats of aggression from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran against our allies, these troops help prevent future wars that would likely draw in the U.S.
By and large, our military presence overseas serves American interests in a dangerous world. The missions our service members undertake deserve to be understood, debated, and, when appropriate, supported by the public. At the very least, we owe this to the service members who pay the ultimate price on those missions.
The names of the fallen:
Afghanistan: Sgt. Maj. James G. Sartor; Master Sgts. Luis F. DeLeon-Figueroa, Jose J. Gonzalez, and Michael B. Riley; Sgts. 1st Class Dustin B. Ard, Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, Michael J. Goble, Jeremy W. Griffin, Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, and Antonio Rey Rodriguez; Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin; Sgt. James G. Johnston; Spc. Michael Isaiah Nance; and Pfcs. Brandon Jay Kreischer and Miguel Villalon.
Iraq: U.S. Marine Capt. Moises A. Navas, Marine Gunnery Sgts. Scott A. Koppenhafer and Diego D. Pongo, Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Marshall D. Roberts, and Army Spc. Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias. An American Defense Department translator was also killed: Nawres Walid Hamid.
Kenya: Army Spc. Henry Mayfield and contractors Bruce Triplett and Dustin Harrison.
Tommy Meyerson served as a U.S. Marine from 2011 to 2018. He is a recent graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Pat Tillman Scholar.
