A U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 124 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf Oct. 2, 2014, as the ship supports operations in Iraq and Syria. President Barack Obama authorized humanitarian aid deliveries to Iraq as well as targeted airstrikes to protect U.S. personnel from extremists known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. U.S. Central Command directed the operations.