PETERSEN AFB: As he welcomed America’s first female combatant commander, NORTHCOM‘s new leader Gen. Lori Robinson, Defense Secretary Ash Carter detailed publicly some of the cyber attacks against Daesh — what his deputy called “cyber bombs” — that US forces have launched in recent months.

“We’re using these tools to deny the ability of ISIL leadership to command and finance their forces and control their populations; to identify and locate ISIL cyber actors; and to undermine the ability of ISIL recruiters to inspire or direct Homegrown Violent Extremists,” Carter told an audience of roughly 1,000 in a hangar here.

Carter made clear that the Obama administration is again applying the lessons learned from the Iraqi surge, when the combination of DNA, retinal scans, fingerprints and “pocket litter” — all fused into a giant database — played a crucial role in illuminating terrorist networks and eliminating them.

“For instance, when we collect fingerprints from IEDs, or personal information removed from terrorists, we include this information in DoD’s Biometrics Enabled Watchlist, which is then shared with relevant agencies across our government,” the Defense Secretary noted. This is aimed at disrupting “the flow of foreign fighters into and out of ISIL controlled territories.” And the Pentagon shares that “with other domestic departments that are the leads for screening and watchlisting.” On top of that, the US is also “fusing and sharing information and expertise across the Coalition to stem foreign fighter flows and help prevent attacks.”

On the home front, Carter noted the Pentagon is boosting force protection at and near US military bases and is building a “a mass warning and notification capability to broadcast threats quickly and broadly, notifying DoD personnel within a 20 mile radius of a threat within ten minutes. That’s a direct response to Chattanooga, where the killer targeted two facilities 11 miles apart in a span of 12 minutes,” he said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter backed by (left to right) Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Lori Robinson, new head of Northern Command; Harjit Singh Sajjan, the Canadian defense minister; and Gen. J.H. Vance, Canadian Chief of Defence Staff.