Over the last five months, San Diego-based Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has played a key role in the fight against ISIS, acting as a launching point for airstrikes from the Persian Gulf, the ship’s commanding officer Capt. Karl Thomas told NBC7.
“We've launched about a little over 1,100 sorties up over the country at this point. We have delivered more than 400 bombs on different targets,” said Thomas in an exclusive interview Friday.
The sophisticated, GPS-guided bombs used in these strikes have changed the way the enemy operates, according to the CO.
“They don't congregate in buildings in large numbers. They don't create convoys. They certainly are careful,” Thomas told NBC 7.
He reports ISIS is no longer moving freely throughout Iraq and no longer gaining ground, trying to hold on to what they have. Even that may be shifting.
“I think it is safe to say that the momentum they brought into Iraq, they no longer have,” said Thomas.
That momentum is being driven back by coalition forces, and Thomas believes the growing support of Arab nations – with their forces flying beside U.S. planes – is sending a message.
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While some U.S. air power is being directed toward Syria, most is concentrated in Iraq, where Americans communicate with Iraqi forces and detail where the Vinson’s Air Wing 17 needs to strike.
The mission is about supporting Iraq in its effort to control its borders.
“I think our air power is giving them that tilt in the balance of power to make that happen,” Thomas said.
And the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier– with more than 5,000 sailors and 65 aircraft – is the backbone of that mission.
“It's a great crew. They are certainly firing on all cylinders right now,” the captain said.
Supporting the crew are their families, many of whom live in San Diego. When the sailors aboard the Vinson know they have that support, it allows them to focus on their tasks at hand, according to Thomas. Their part in Operation Inherent Resolve has reached the halfway point.
