CENTCOM commander completes 10-day Middle East trip

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, completed a 10-day trip to the Middle East on Aug. 15 that included stops in six countries and a visit to a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

Cooper met senior civilian and military leaders in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He also spent time with deployed troops. More than 50,000 U.S. service members are operating across the Middle East in support of various missions.

During the trip, Cooper recognized service members, conducted reenlistments and presided over a leadership transition for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. Maj. Gen. Kevin Lambert transferred command of the task force to Rear Adm. Liam Hulin during an Aug. 11 ceremony at its headquarters in Jordan.

Cooper also visited sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln for the second time this year. He previously toured the aircraft carrier in February with U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

During his latest visit, Cooper addressed the carrier’s crew, met junior service members and presented awards.

“The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is a strong team of high-achieving Americans standing tall with immense, justified pride in everything they accomplished,” said Cooper. “History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era.”

The San Diego-based Abraham Lincoln departed for deployment in November and arrived in the Middle East in January. Its strike group has conducted thousands of combat flights supporting Operation Epic Fury, regional security missions and the continuing U.S. naval blockade against Iran.