Combined Joint Task Force -OIR (Operation Inherent Resolve) T-shirt

Our in-house designed graphics recognizing the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR). 

The Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) was a highly specialized, multinational military formation tasked with leading the special operations component of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/Da'esh). 

Operating as a critical subcomponent of the broader Special Operations Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (SOJTF-OIR) and the overall Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the CJSOTF directed the tactical and operational training, equipping, and advising of partner forces on the ground.

1. HISTORY AND STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION

• Initial Activation (2014): In 2014, as ISIS rapidly seized large swaths of territory in northern and central Iraq as well as Syria, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) rapidly deployed special operations task forces to halt the enemy's advance.

• Divided Command: Initially, the battlefield was divided into two distinct entities due to the differing geopolitical environments: CJSOTF-Iraq and CJSOTF-Syria.

• Consolidation: As the campaign against ISIS evolved from desperate defensive stands into a coordinated, cross-border offensive to dismantle the physical caliphate, these two entities were ultimately unified into a single command structure—CJSOTF-OIR—to synchronize intelligence, logistics, and combat power across both nations.

2. STRATEGIC APPROACH: "BY, WITH, AND THROUGH"

CJSOTF-OIR did not operate as a massive conventional occupying force. Instead, it operated strictly under the "By, With, and Through" doctrine.

• By empowering local partner forces to do the frontline fighting.

• With the tactical advice, training, and integration of Coalition special operators (U.S. Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Marine Raiders, and allied SOF).

• Through the massive enabler support provided by the Coalition, including precision airstrikes, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and medical evacuation.

3. KEY PARTNER FORCES

The success of CJTF-OIR relied entirely on rebuilding, training, and fighting alongside indigenous partner forces:

• The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS): The CTS was a small, elite Iraqi force originally trained for targeted counter-terrorism raids. However, when the conventional Iraqi Army largely collapsed in 2014, the CTS was forced into conventional, bloody urban warfare against ISIS. CJSOTF-I (and later CJSOTF-OIR) was instrumental in rebuilding the CTS after they took massive casualties, turning them back into the premier security agency in Iraq.

• The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF): In Syria, CJSOTF elements heavily advised and supported the SDF—an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias—who served as the primary ground force responsible for besieging and liberating the ISIS capital of Raqqa, as well as capturing the Tabqa Dam and clearing the Middle Euphrates River Valley.

   

4. DEACTIVATION AND LEGACY

After six years of intense, sustained combat operations that resulted in the complete territorial destruction of the ISIS physical caliphate, CJTF-OIR's specific mission was deemed accomplished.

• Deactivation: The task force was formally deactivated on March 29, 2021, during a ceremony at the civilian air terminal in Erbil, Iraq, which had served as the unit's headquarters.

• Final Commander: Marine Corps Colonel John (Jody) Lynch III served as the last commanding officer to case the unit's colors.

• Post-CJSOTF Era: While the specific CJTF-OIR command structure was dissolved, the broader Coalition and SOJTF elements remained in the region under a transitioned posture to continue advising partner forces and ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS insurgent remnants.