TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, could soon have a new commander.
A Senate Armed Services Committee hearing is set Tuesday to consider President Joe Biden's nomination of Army Lt. Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla to be promoted to the rank of general and assigned to command USCENTCOM, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Biden administration made Kurilla's nomination announcement on Jan. 7.
According to the Wall Street Journal, if the Senate confirms Kurilla, he would succeed Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie. McKenzie has been in command since March 2019 and whose tenure is set to end on April 1, WSJ says.
Kurilla currently serves as the commanding general in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He had previously served as chief of staff for USCENTCOM.
Kurilla is a West Point graduate and served in multiple combat missions including Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
USCENTCOM is one of the nine Unified Commands in the DoD, according to the Federation of American Scientists. The command headquarters are located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The headquarters is comprised of about 1,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marine and civilian employees, FAS says.
Its purpose focuses on U.S. military affairs in 20 countries throughout the Middle East, Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa and the Arabian Gulf, according to FAS.