Operation Spear is conducted by Marines in a Combat Regiment. Whenever you see that term, you know it’s a mix of US soldiers with indigenous forces. In this case, Marines are working side by side with Iraqi Army troops. This is an ideal mission for the Iraqis to take the lead and show their authority in the streets of Iraq.

It’s good to see Iraqi troops being revered by the Iraqi people, equal to the way the Americans are. These guys have come a long way from being scared to even show their faces in the streets to taking the lead in controlling what goes on in these villages. Here, the Iraqi Army is sort of using the same tactics of Saddam’s old regime: They’re giving the Iraqi people the chance to comply, and if they don’t, the soldiers take hold of the situation and force the compliance. In the case of the Iraqi Army, of course, it’s for the greater good.

There’s a huge increase in the number of tips coming from residents for two reasons: They’re a little bit fearful of these huge raids, and they are more likely to share information with one of their own: an Iraqi. So the US is gleaning all kinds of information about weapons caches and insurgent activities because they’ve got indigenous troops among their ranks.

We still infiltrate these towns along the Syrian border because it continues to be such an enormous problem: foreign fighters crossing the border to join forces with the insurgents. And there’s no end in sight to the operations that will take place. So long as the Syrian government is helpless in preventing the border problems, US-led troops will continue to raid the towns and clear out the enemy.

The most interesting thing about Operation Spear is the discovery of the hostages. It’s unclear to the four guys being held captive why they’re there, but it’s pretty clear to the military. It’s a show of force. They don’t need anything from these guys, but by taking four random people off the streets, the insurgents make a strong statement to residents that you better comply with us or you might just disappear too.

It’s a scary reality that these people are facing every day. So every day our guys will be back out there. Sure, it’s a disruption to the civilians, but it beats the alternative. The enemy is running out of places to hide, and they’ll continue to take full advantage of these border towns—overtaking schools and businesses and imprisoning the residents—unless there’s a serious deterrent.

And that’s where we come in.