As Operation Inherent Resolve concludes in Iraq, it closes a chapter that has shaped a generation of Royal Air Force personnel.
For more than twelve years, Operation Shader, the UK's contribution to the Global Coalition's campaign against Daesh, (Operation Inherent Resolve) has seen thousands of RAF personnel serve across the Middle East. From the humanitarian airdrops over Mount Sinjar in 2014 to the final stages of the campaign against Daesh, the operation became a defining experience for many of those who wore uniform.
As the Coalition mission transitions, it is an opportunity to reflect on the people, partnerships and achievements behind one of the RAF's most enduring operational commitments of the modern era.
For Group Captain Paul Hanson OBE, Typhoon Commander Air Wing, the moment represents an important milestone.
“It marks an important day in our collective history – the end of Typhoon operations over Iraq," he said.
"Operation Shader, as an overall mission continues - but Typhoon's part over Iraq has concluded."
What began in August 2014 with RAF Hercules aircraft delivering humanitarian aid to civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar evolved into one of the RAF's most sustained operational commitments. Over the following years, RAF personnel deployed across the region in support of Coalition efforts to defeat Daesh.
"When I think back over the last twelve years, I don't immediately think of aircraft or numbers. I think about people. I think about the young personnel who joined the RAF, completed operational tours and are now leading squadrons and teams themselves. I think about the pilots, engineers, intelligence specialists, force protection personnel, logisticians and support staff who quietly delivered excellence day after day. Tens of thousands of us served from CAOCs (Combined Air Operations Centre) to FOBs (Forward Operating Base), Akrotiri to Baghdad, Erbil to Al Assad. For many of us, we are defined by Operation Inherent Resolve and our fight against Daesh."
Group Captain Paul Hanson OBE
Typhoon Commander Air Wing
The campaign also spanned a period of significant change for the RAF, with capabilities entering service, maturing on operations and, in some cases, completing their final deployments.
"During Shader, the RAF used and retired E-3D, Sentinel, Tornado GR4, Reaper and C130," Hanson noted.
"Typhoon came of age as a proper multi-role aircraft and Storm Shadow strike asset leading the fight against Daesh."
Looking back, Hanson believes one of the campaign's defining achievements was helping create the conditions for Iraqi-led security.
"Today routine Combat Air Operations have finished with Daesh reduced to a level within which the Iraqis can address without our persistent support," he said.
The transition reflects years of partnership, training and cooperation with Iraqi Security Forces, with responsibility for security now increasingly held by Iraqi institutions.
Behind every deployment stood families and support networks who shared the demands of operational service, often across multiple tours and many years of commitment.
Hanson also highlighted the campaign's wider impact.
"We have stayed the course, and delivered a resounding success," he said.
"We have been instrumental in the territorial defeat of a twisted theocracy which threatened to upturn the Middle East permanently."
"And in doing so we have kept the streets of Britain safer, playing a vital role in disrupting ISIS terrorism abroad."
The conclusion of Operation Inherent Resolve marks an important milestone in the international campaign against Daesh and an opportunity to recognise the contribution of those who served.
"Operation Inherent Resolve will be remembered as a defining chapter in the RAF's modern history," Hanson reflected.
"The contribution made by those who served helped create the conditions for lasting security and delivered an enduring impact both in the region and at home in the UK."
While the military mission in Iraq has concluded, the UK's commitment to regional security continues. For the thousands of RAF personnel who served on Operation Shader, the campaign remains a defining chapter of service, professionalism and commitment over more than a decade of operations.
