Lt. Gen Stephen J. Townsend, center, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force -- Operation Inherent Resolve, commends Spc. Nathan Wedgeworth, right, an artilleryman deployed with 3rd Battalion, 321st Artillery Regiment, at Kara Soar Base, Iraq, August 2016. The artillery units at Kara Soar Base serve two roles: to provide force protection for Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and to support ISF ground maneuver to defeat Da'esh (an Arabic acronym for ISIL). The mission of Operation Inherent Resolve is to defeat Da'esh in Iraq and Syria by supporting the Government of Iraq with trainers, advisors and fire support, to include aerial strikes and artillery fire.