Biden to nominate Lieutenant General Kurilla as next CENTCOM Commander
Gen. Kurilla would replace outgoing CENTCOM Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden intends to nominate Lieutenant General Michael E. Kurilla as the next head of U.S. Central Command.
Fox News has confirmed that Biden plans to nominate Gen. Kurilla, who is currently the head of the US Army’s 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, when current CENTCOM Commander General Frank McKenzie retires this spring.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ: General George Casey (2nd L), commander of US troops arrives at a military combat outpost manned by soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment in the restive northern city of Mosul 27 January 2005. The commander of the battalion Lieutenant Colonel Michael Kurilla is first starting from right. FP PHOTO/SAM DAGHER (Photo credit should read SAM DAGHER/AFP via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gen. Kurilla served as Chief of Staff at CENTCOM prior to his position at Fort Bragg and was the head of the 82nd Airborne previous to that. Gen. Kurilla would be promoted to four-star general if confirmed.
Gen. Kurilla’s role would involve overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East including the residual effects of the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the potential reemergence of al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command. (AP Photo/Ahmad Seir,)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Born in California and raised in Minnesota, Gen. Kurilla graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, served in the Gulf War, and was a battalion commander in Mosul, Iraq where he was shot multiple times in combat.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while joining the White House Covid-19 Response Team's call with the National Governors Association (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.