As many of you have already seen or read by now, Jordanian F-16 pilot Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh was murdered in one of the most horrific, barbaric, and unconscionable displays of evil I have ever seen. If you want to view his execution, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Our goal is to celebrate this man’s life and service, not contaminate and re-victimize the hearts and minds affected by his death.
In response to the barbarism of ISIS, the Jordanians launched a massive airstrike against targets in Syria, demonstrating a fervor reflective of the nation’s rage. Called Operation Martyr Moaz, the goal was very clear: to bring the hammer to the terrorists responsible for their pilot’s murder.
The airstrikes targeted ISIS training centers and weapons storage facilities in northern Syria and Iraq, reportedly killing fifty-five (Roll ‘Em!) terrorists in the process. Then, in a show of solidarity, Jordanian F-16s conducted a flyover of their fallen comrade’s hometown once the airstrikes concluded and they were safely back.
The video also features a pilot holding up a sign that reads: ‘And do not think that God is unaware of what the evildoers are doing’ – an apparent warning to ISIS militants. The message is based on a passage in the Quran. (Courtesy of the Jordanian AF)
I offer my thoughts and prayers to all of Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh’s family, friends, and fellow Jordanian warriors, on behalf of the entire FighterSweep team.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite poems. It’s a nice reminder when one of our own gets called home that these men and women lived their lives to the fullest and answered the call:
“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air….
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”
-John Gillespie Magee Jr.
So here’s a nickel on the grass for you, Moaz. May you rest in peace, sir.