US President Joe Biden has nominated Lieutenant general Michael E. Kurilla to head Central Command overseeing possible operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
General Kurilla, if confirmed, would replace General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., whose tenure is set to end this spring and as the leader of Central Command, General Kurilla would be responsible for the administration's efforts to prevent terrorist groups from once again using Afghanistan as a launching pad for attacks on the West, according to New York Times.
Lieutenant General Kurilla is a combat-tested commander, having been wounded in a 2005 gun battle during the Iraq war in the city of Mosul in Iraq when he was a battalion commander.
Further, Lieutenant General rose through the ranks, with stints as chief of staff to the head of the military's Central Command at the time, General Joseph L. Votel, and assistant commanding general and director of operations at the Joint Special Operations Command.
At present, General Kurilla was also the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, one of the US Army's most battle-tested units. And he is currently the commander of the Army's 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Also, along with his nomination, Lieutenant General Michael E Kurilla is promoted to General.
Lieutenant General Michael E Kurilla holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Business Administration. from Regis University in Denver, and a Master of Science in National Security Studies from the National War College, according to New York Times.
The United States Central Command CENTCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983. CENTCOM's main headquarters is located at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida
( With inputs from ANI )
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