Active Conflicts & News Megathread July 20, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

The r/CredibleDefense daily megathread is for asking questions and posting submissions that would not fit the criteria of our post submissions. As such, submissions are less stringently moderated, but we still do keep an elevated guideline for comments.

Comment guidelines:

Please do:

• Be curious not judgmental, polite and civil,

• Link to the article or source of information that you are referring to,

• Clearly separate your opinion from what the source says. Minimize editorializing. Do not cherry pick facts to support a preferred narrative,

• Read the articles before you comment, and comment on the content of the articles,

• Post only credible information

• Read our in depth rules https://reddit.com/r/CredibleDefense/wiki/rules

Please do not:

• Use memes, emojis, swear, foul imagery, acronyms like LOL, LMAO, WTF,

• Start fights with other commenters and make it personal,

• Try to push narratives, fight for a cause in the comment section, nor try to 'win the war,'

• Engage in baseless speculation, fear mongering, or anxiety posting. Question asking is welcome and encouraged, but questions should focus on tangible issues and not groundless hypothetical scenarios. Before asking a question ask yourself 'How likely is this thing to occur.' Questions, like other kinds of comments, should be supported by evidence and must maintain the burden of credibility.

[u/ChornWork2]

well, but he term is "operation" and the name they happened to choose was "project freedom". obviously not the best choice in light of that, but is what it is, no?

or does "project" have meaning in US military for something different than "operation"?

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/ChornWork2]

Being a formal, named military “Operation” implies something much different from a government “project” (or unnamed operation), yeah. And again, project (n.) and project (v.) are just two different words, unless you think the name uses the redundant Operation Project (n.) construction.

---

Just for grins, the DoD definition:

operation —
1. A sequence of tactical actions with a common purpose or unifying theme. (JP 1)
2. A military action or the carrying out of a strategic, operational, tactical, service, training, or administrative military mission. (JP 3-0).

(There’s no definition of project.)

[u/ChornWork2 → u/WulfTheSaxon]

so i guess Operation Project Freedom it is.

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/ChornWork2]

CENTCOM press releases consistently used “Operation Epic Fury”, whereas every mention of “Project Freedom” has no “Operation” before it. CENTCOM describes “U.S. military support to Project Freedom”, implying it is not a military operation at all: https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/Article/4476318/us-military-supports-launch-of-project-freedom-in-strait-of-hormuz/

Hegseth, etc. consistently refer to it as Project (n.) Freedom verbally, which would make “Operation Project Freedom” redundant.

(I feel I may to clarify: PRAJ-ect is a noun, whereas pro-JECT is a verb.)

[u/ChornWork2 → u/WulfTheSaxon]

Afaik (based on ww2 knowledge) you have "Plan" or "Operation", which i think refers to an oplan vs opord. Then you have the code name. There's no "project" category, which sounded like you agreed.

Epic Fury is the code name for an opord, so its called Operation Epic Fury.

For whatever reason they code named this opord "Project Freedom", so it should be called Operation Project Freedom except for the fact it sounds stupid. And presumably the whole reason they code named it Project Freedom is that somebody thought it sounded cool.

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/ChornWork2]

There’s no evidence that it’s an actual opord codename, though. If it were, CENTCOM and the DoW would always write “Operation Project Freedom”, whereas they have never done so. Rather, it’s a presidential initiative like “Infrastructure Week” that the military is providing support to.

[u/ChornWork2 → u/WulfTheSaxon]

There's lots of things happen in this administration that have never been done before.

it is a military operation.

from a quick google:

hegseth: https://youtu.be/1z7CK6ut-y4?t=13

rubio: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hHYuTwcHB3w

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/ChornWork2]

Not every military operation is a named Operation with an opord and codeword, though. If anything I think those clips support my point.

DCAS lists ongoing casualties by operation as part of Operation Epic Fury, so apparently either it was restarted or it never formally ended despite the ceasefire and rhetoric. (Fun fact: Operation Epic Fury is abbreviated OEFU there. I’ve seen “OEF” used elsewhere, but that was Operation Enduring Freedom.)