A Military Recap of 2022 by Avi Heiligman

A Military Recap of 2022

By Avi Heiligman

Al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a raid this year Specialist Dwight W. Birdwell was awarded the Medal of Honor this year World War II Medal of Honor recipient Woody Williams passed away this year

Without question, the most talked about military topic in 2022 was the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From the political fallout to the humanitarian crisis, to the gains and losses by the Russian military, it took the world by storm in February and continued throughout the year. However, there are many other military stories that have made the news and include topics like Medal of Honor recipients, raids on terrorist leaders, and new and improved military hardware and equipment. Here are just some of the many topics that involved the American military in 2022.

On February 3, U.S. Special Operations Command carried out a raid to kill ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi. Qurayshi had been named as the leader of ISIS after his predecessor, Abu Bakr al Baghdad, was killed in a raid in 2019. The killing of Qurayshi took place in Syria near the border with Turkey after he was identified by an American drone. The leader of the terrorist organization killed himself and several others by detonating a large bomb as the Special Forces were making announcements for civilians to leave the area. An intense firefight then broke out between the two dozen American commandos that arrived by helicopter and ISIS terrorists. No American casualties were reported in the two-hour raid, but one of the helicopters had to be destroyed after experiencing mechanical issues. President Joe Biden said in a while al-Zawahiri was on the balcony of his house. The terrorist was confirmed to have been killed in the strike by intelligence sources despite al-Qaeda denying their leader’s death.

Four soldiers that fought during the Vietnam War were awarded the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony

After a harrowing ordeal which included fighting off determined enemy attacks, Fujii was rescued.

public address that “this horrible terrorist leader” was responsible for the genocide of the Yazidis in Iraq.

Qurayshi wasn’t the only arch terrorist killed by the U.S. in 2022. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was located by the CIA in a safe house in Kabul, Afghanistan. On July 31, two Hellfire missiles were fired from an American drone on July 5. The recipients of the long overdue Medal of Honor were Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro, Specialist Dwight W. Birdwell, Specialist Dennis M. Fujii, and Major John J. Duffy. Birdwell and Duffy were recognized for repelling multiple concentrated enemy attacks that left both of them wounded. Fujii was a combat medic who was on a helicopter that crashed but was unable to be rescued as the enemy directed fire on his position. He waved off the other helicopter that was loaded with all of the other Americans, and he was left in the combat area with several wounded South Vietnamese. After a harrowing ordeal which included fighting off determined enemy attacks, Fujii was rescued. Kaneshiro came to the aid of two infantry squads that had been ambushed and sustained heavy casualties. Kaneshiro was killed by enemy gunfire in Vietnam.

Marine Herschel “Woody” Williams, the last living World War II Medal of Honor Recipient, passed away on June 29. He was awarded the medal for actions on Iwo Jima in February 1945. While facing heavy enemy fire, Williams used his flamethrower to great effect and on one occasion stood on top of a Japanese pillbox to be able to squeeze the nozzle into the air vent. He silenced the enemy gun and fought bravely through hours of intense fighting.

Many new weapons systems were unveiled for the first time this year, and others were delivered to the military in 2022. The MH-139 Grey Wolf Helicopters were received by the army

Grey Wolf helicopters are still undergoing testing The USS Ford cost the military $13 billion

in August and is currently undergoing testing. Slated to replace the aging Vietnam-era UH-1N Twin Huey, production on the Grey Wolf by Boeing is set to start in 2023. The army ordered 80 of these new helicopters, and they will be used for transport and defense purposes.

The M2 Bradley fighting vehicle has been in use since the 1980s, and in April, new models were fielded by the army. The M2A4 was built with lessons learned from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Among its many upgrades from previous models, the M2A4 has a more powerful engine, new digitized electronics, better armor against ballistic threats, and a IED jammer.

While new ships were being delivered to the navy, the super carrier USS Ford (CVN-78) saw continued delays and rising costs despite being years behind schedule. She finally went on her first deployment in 2022 despite construction starting in 2005 and being launched in 2013. The world’s largest aircraft carrier costs $13 billion. The reasons for the delays and the costs going way over budget are due to the many new features and innovations that had problems that needed time and money to fix. In all, the carrier has 25 decks, carries over 75 aircraft with state-ofthe-art elevators to save space on the flight deck, and is powered by two nuclear reactors. In the fall of 2022, the Ford made her first foreign ports visits to Canada and England.

These are a few of the many stories and headlines that involved the U.S. military in 2022. Many other headlines with political undertones also made the news circuit this year. Information on the military can be sporadic, especially when covering operations or new equipment that may be classified.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.