Latest news with #military
Fox News
14 minutes ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Kurilla warfare: Meet the general leading US military forces in the Middle East amid Iran conflict
Army Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla is no stranger to conflict, especially in the Middle East. Two decades ago as a lieutenant colonel, he was at the front lines of combat fighting off insurgents in Mosul, Iraq, while leading the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment. The battalion's mission was to conduct security patrols and coordinate offensive attacks against anti-Iraqi insurgents targeting Iraqi security forces and Iraqi police stations. During Kurilla's tenure leading the battalion, more than 150 soldiers earned the Purple Heart for injuries, and the battalion lost at least a dozen soldiers, The New York Times reported in August 2005. "There will always be somebody willing (to) pick up an AK-47 and shoot Americans," Kurilla told The New York Times in August 2005. Kurilla did not complete that deployment unscathed. Later, in August 2005, Kurilla found himself caught in a Mosul, Iraq, firefight, where he sustained multiple gunshot wounds, earning him a Bronze Star with valor and one of his two Purple Heart awards. Now, Kurilla is facing another battle as the commander of U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, serving as the top military officer overseeing U.S. military forces based in the Middle East. That means Kurilla, who attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, is at the forefront of military operations as President Donald Trump contemplates whether to engage in military strikes against Iran's nuclear sites. CENTCOM is one of the U.S. military's 11 combatant commands and encompasses 21 nations in the Middle East in its area of operations, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Those familiar with Kurilla claim he's the perfect person for the job. Retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described Kurilla as the ideal leader for CENTCOM in 2022 when Biden nominated Kurilla for the role. "If there ever was some way to feed into a machine the requirements for the perfect leader of CENTCOM — the character traits, the attributes, the experiences, the knowledge and the personality that would be ideal — that machine would spit out Erik Kurilla," Milley said in 2022, according to the Defense Department. "Erik's got vast experience in combat (and) on staffs. "He's a visionary, he's a thinker and he's a doer," Milley said. "He understands both the physical and human terrain and is able to identify root causes of problems and develop systems. He's not at all a linear thinker. He's actually a very gifted problem-solver." Retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, Kurilla's CENTCOM predecessor, voiced similar sentiments. "I can't think of anybody better qualified to lead CENTCOM's next chapter than Erik Kurilla," McKenzie said in 2022, according to the Pentagon. "He's no stranger to the CENTCOM (area of operations). He's no stranger to the headquarters." Notable figures who've previously filled the job leading CENTCOM include former defense secretaries, retired Gen. Jim Mattis, who served during Trump's first term, and retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, who served during former President Joe Biden's administration. Fox News Digital reached out to CENTCOM, the Department of Defense, McKenzie and Milley for comment and did not get a response by the time of publication. The region is familiar territory for Kurilla. The general spent a decade between 2004 and 2014 overseeing conventional and special operations forces during consecutive tours in the Middle East that fell under the CENTCOM purview. Additionally, Kurilla has served in key CENTCOM staff and leadership positions, including serving as the command's chief of staff from August 2018 to September 2019. Prior to leading CENTCOM, the general also commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps, according to his official bio. In addition to deploying to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve, he deployed to Afghanistan with Operation Enduring Freedom. Other awards he's earned include the Combat Infantryman Badge, awarded to Army infantry or special forces officers who've encountered active ground combat. Kurilla, who the Senate confirmed to lead CENTCOM in February 2022 and will exit the role later in 2025, told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee June 10 that, since October 2023, when Hamas first attacked Israel, American service members have faced increased threats in the region. Specifically, he said, U.S. troops have come under direct fire by nearly 400 unmanned aerial systems, 350 rockets, 50 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles launched by Iranian-backed groups. He said CENTCOM has encountered the "most highly kinetic period than at any other time in the past decade." "We have been at the brink of regional war several times with the first state-on-state attacks between Iran and Israel in their history," Kurilla told lawmakers. "In the Red Sea, Houthi attempts to kill Americans operating in the Red Sea necessitated an aggressive response to protect our sailors and mariners and restore freedom of navigation. This is while Tehran is continuing to progress towards a nuclear weapons program — threatening catastrophic ramifications across the region and beyond." As a result, Kurilla said CENTCOM is prepared to use military force to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state. Kurilla said he has provided Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth a host of options to employ to eliminate the threat of a nuclear Iran. Since Kurilla's testimony, tensions have escalated even further in the Middle East after Israel kicked off massive airstrikes against Iran's nuclear sites that Israel claims have killed several high-ranking military leaders. Likewise, Iran also launched strikes against Israel as the two ramp up military campaigns against one another. Trump is still navigating whether the U.S. will conduct direct strikes against Iran. Trump told reporters he may order strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites and that the "next week is going to be very big." "Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump said. "I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate."
ABC News
18 minutes ago
- ABC News
Dashcam footage of crash with SA police officers
Photo shows Ukraine Drone Strike: Screengrab shows a small drone hovering above a truck's trailer with a plume of smoke in the background. Has Video Duration: 1 minute 41 seconds . 1 m 41 s
Forbes
21 minutes ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Gen. Erik ‘Gorilla' Kurilla—Not Pete Hegseth—Leading U.S. Military On Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly deferred authority on the U.S. military's involvement in the Middle East to Gen. Erik Kurilla, the U.S. Central Command chief known as 'The Gorilla' who served earlier tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and an Iran hawk, who has pressed for a more aggressive response in the region. Kurilla, appointed as the head of U.S. Central Command by Joe Biden, has become the apparent go-to ... More advisor for the Trump administration in the Middle East. Kurilla, a Biden appointee, has become the leading adviser on the Middle East over other Department of Defense officials, and he has held an audience with President Donald Trump more than any other general, Politico reported, citing unnamed former and current defense officials. Hegseth has yet to turn down a request from Kurilla for more military assets in the Middle East, including new fighter planes, a person familiar with their dynamic told Politico, despite resistance to sending more weapons from Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Pentagon's policy chief Elbridge Colby. Dan Caldwell, a former adviser to Hegseth, told 'Breaking Points' that Kurilla has a 'fundamentally different view on the importance of the Middle East' than other officials in the Trump administration, adding Kurilla likely believes a 'military campaign against Iran will not be as costly as others.' Caldwell suggested Kurilla was likely becoming more vocal as his three-year tenure as CENTCOM chief nears its end. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell disputed Hegseth's deference to Kurilla, telling Politico in a statement Hegseth 'empowers all of his combatant commanders the same way, by decentralizing command and harnessing their real-world expertise,' while another defense official said Kurilla and Caine have a 'hand in glove relationship.' During a congressional hearing earlier this month, Kurilla said he presented a 'wide range of options' to Hegeth and Trump to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. When asked if CENTCOM would respond with overwhelming force if Iran failed to give up its nuclear program, Kurilla responded, 'Yes.' Kurilla was the subject of a U.S. Army-led investigation after he allegedly pushed a subordinate service member during a trip to the Middle East in 2024. Three unnamed U.S. officials told NBC News that Kurilla allegedly shoved an airman when Kurilla was asked to sit down during a flight to Israel. CENTCOM said at the time that officials were not aware of an investigation into Kurilla. Kurilla, 59, is an Elk River, Minnesota, native who was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in 1988, according to CENTCOM. A West Point graduate, Kurilla was deployed to Panama in 1989, the Gulf War in 1990, and to Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. He has been awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with valor in 2005 for leading U.S. troops in Iraq. Kurilla was nominated to lead CENTCOM under President Joe Biden in 2022, after previously commanding the 82nd Airborne Division and serving as CENTCOM's chief of staff.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump weighing up many risks before possible US strike on Iran
This is the most significant statement from the US president in days, though it still keeps everyone guessing. In a message conveyed through his press secretary, he is giving diplomacy up to two weeks to work. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Karoline Leavitt quoted him as saying. It is not clear what "whether or not to go" entails. Israel-Iran conflict: Latest updates We know that he has been given a spectrum of different military options by his generals and we know that the Israelis are pressuring him to use American B2 bombers with their to destroy Iran's nuclear facility at Fodow. The Israelis are encouraging no delay. But against that, he is weighing up many risks, both military and political. Militarily, it is not clear how successful a bunker-busting strike on Fordow would be. Experts have suggested it would require several of the massive bombs, which have never been used in combat before, to be dropped on the site. It is not as simple as one clean strike and job done. Politically, the is under significant pressure domestically not to get involved in Iran. Within his own MAGA coalition - influencers, politicians and media personalities are lining up in criticism of involvement in the conflict. One of those leading the criticism, his former chief strategist , who maintains huge influence, was seen entering the White House on Thursday. His press secretary reiterated to us that the president always wants to give diplomacy a chance and she confirmed that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has spoken to the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. European leaders, including the UK foreign secretary David Lammy, who is in Washington, are meeting Mr Araghchi in Geneva on Friday. The two-week window - assuming it lasts that long - also gives space to better prepare for any strike and mitigate against some of the other risks of US involvement. Read more from Sky News: There are 40,000 troops in bases across the Middle East. It takes time to increase security at these bases or to move non-essential personnel out. It also takes time to move strategic military assets into the region. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and its support vessels were redeployed from the Indo-Pacific on Monday. Their last known position was the Strait of Malacca two days ago. The Nimitz Carrier Group will overlap with the USS Carl Vinson group which was deployed to the Middle East in March. The potential two-week window also allows for more time for a 'day after' plan, given that the Israeli strategy appears to be regime change from within. Since the Israeli action in Iran began last week, the worst-case scenario of mass casualties in Israel from Iranian attacks has not materialised. The president is said to be surprised and encouraged by this. "Israel has exceeded a lot of people's expectations in their abilities," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The Israeli success, the absence of a mass casualty event in Israel, and the lack of any sustained counterattack by Iranian proxies in the region remove reservations that previous presidents have had about taking on Iran.
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Brit AI-drone gunships to fly alongside Apache helicopters in war of the future
BRITAIN'S new AI-drone gunships will fly alongside Apache helicopters in future battles. Apache pilots will command up to six drones, known as mules, carrying missiles, sensors and jamming kit. The mules will also be programmed to fight autonomously and control swarms of smaller drones on the ground. This triple-layer system will give the Army far greater firepower and aims to protect our fleet of Apache AH-64Es, Challenger 3 tanks plus soldiers on the ground. More integration of crewed and uncrewed aircraft had been hinted at in the Strategic Defence Review announced earlier this month. Defence Secretary John Healey told this week's RUSI land warfare conference in London: 'From this year, we will be investing more than £100million in new, initial funding to develop land drone swarms.' 'Our Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (the mules) will fly alongside the Apache attack helicopters and enhance the Army's ability to strike, survive and win on the battlefield. 'This will be a game-changer. It will be applying the lessons from Ukraine in a world- leading way. It will be putting the UK at the leading edge of innovation in Nato.' Chief of the General Staff Sir Roly Walker said 80 per cent of the Army's weapons in future wars would be drones — as it could take months to build Apaches and tanks and years to train their crews. He said drones were vital as the Ukraine war had 'shown how a £20million tank and four experienced crew can be lost to a £1,000 drone operated by a kid with a few days' training'. He added of the mule drones: 'You don't want to lose them but, if you do, it's not a tragedy because, although sophisticated, they are uncrewed.'
