This Week in DOW: Iran Ceasefire, Daring Rescue, Honoring Gold Star Spouses

This week, the United States announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

"The new Iranian regime understood that a deal was far better than the fate that awaited them. Our warfighters made history with their overwhelming victory on the battlefield," said Pentagon Assistant Press Secretary Riley Podleski in today's War Department Weekly Sitrep video.

During an Operation Epic Fury press briefing held April 8 at the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth noted that U.S. Central Command used less than 10% of America's total combat power and dismantled one of the world's largest militaries.

"The world's leading state sponsor of terrorism proved utterly incapable of defending itself, its people or its territory. We untied just a fraction of our strength, and Iran suffered a devastating military defeat," he said.

Podleski said President Donald J. Trump made history and has done what no other president had the courage to do before, adding, "We own their skies, wiped out their navy, destroyed their missile program and rendered their defense industrial base useless."

She went on to recount the Easter weekend events, which started April 3, when enemy forces in Iran downed an F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jet. Within 48 hours, U.S. forces executed two rescue missions, involving more than 170 military aircraft deployed into hostile airspace, facing close-range gunfire and taking extraordinary risks to save their fellow service members.

The United States military proved once again why it is the greatest fighting force the world has ever known, Podleski said.

"When the second crew member activated his emergency transponder, his first message was simple but powerful: 'God is good.' In that moment of isolation and danger, his faith and fighting spirit came through. Shot down on Good Friday. Hidden in a cave all Saturday and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday," she said.

After the successful rescue, Trump said, "We will never leave an American warfighter behind; we will move heaven and earth to bring them home."

Finally this week, the department observed Gold Star Spouses Day on April 5.

The term gold star dates back to World War I and the first service flag. Robert L. Queissner, who had served in the Ohio National Guard, hung the first blue star banner in his window in 1917 in honor of his two sons fighting in Europe.

Other families began displaying star banners, with a blue star for each child in active military service. If a service member was killed in action or died from injuries, a gold star replaced the blue one, signifying the family's sacrifice. These families became known as Gold Star Families.

Gold Star Spouses Day is observed annually on April 5 to honor the surviving spouses of military service members who have died in the line of duty.

"We recognize the profound sacrifices made by the surviving spouses of our fallen heroes. Your unwavering strength and remarkable resilience continue to inspire us all. Today and always, we stand with you in solemn remembrance and deep gratitude," Podleski said.