ISIS.

Odds are when you see that word, you’re probably not thinking of an ancient Egyptian goddess of wisdom.

ISIS has become an international villain on par with the likes of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. They’re known the world over for being evil sons of bitches. Their insane, home-brewed version of Islam allows for none of the love and harmony and all of the brutality and murder.

It’s a beast that rose from the ashes of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, an inevitability stemming from the rise of radical Islam in the Middle East. When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, it created a massive power vacuum in the country. Where once Saddam’s likeness and influence could be felt in every corner of the country, his capture and death signaled the end of his oppressive regime.

Unfortunately, what very few people in the West saw coming was that power vacuum would be filled by religious extremists. A movement began to violently create a state that followed the tenets of a version of Islam that picks and chooses which parts of the Koran to enforce. ISIS began to make headlines when they began brutally executing thousands upon thousands of civilians in the name of Islam, outraging Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world.

America sent a clear message to ISIS with the announcement of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Involving thousands of men and women from the US Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, the US began the operation on June 15, 2014, by launching massive airstrikes against ISIS compounds throughout Iraq from US aircraft carriers. A couple months later, on September 22, airstrikes began in earnest in Syria.

45,000 ISIS fighters and a number of their highest-ranking members have been killed since the US began launching airstrikes against the organization. To put that into context, some sources put ISIS’s current manpower (as of 2017) at just 20,000, meaning that more than two-thirds of the people who have joined ISIS have died to American airstrikes.

As ISIS claims responsibility for increasingly bold terrorist attacks throughout Europe, we find Operation Inherent Resolve more critically important than ever before. Inherent Resolve has had an amazing amount of success in not only destroying ISIS assets but discouraging new members from joining the organization. After all, is your hate really worth getting a 5,000 lb bomb dropped on your head?

Navy Crow is celebrating the success of the ongoing operation with two new designs made just for veterans and supporters! Be sure to check them out by clicking the image below: