The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, concluded a 10-day trip to the Middle East on Saturday, August 15th, during which he visited six countries and boarded the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier “Abraham Lincoln” operating in the Arabian Sea.
CENTCOM announced on August 15th that Admiral Cooper visited Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, meeting with senior civilian and military officials in each country and inspecting deployed U.S. military personnel in the region.
Currently, there are over 50,000 U.S. military personnel carrying out various missions in the Middle East.
During his onshore visits, Admiral Cooper commended outstanding servicemen, held ceremonies for troops reenlisting, and presided over the command handover ceremony of the Operation Inherent Resolve joint task force on August 11th, where Major General Kevin Lambert transferred command to Navy Rear Admiral Liam Hulin.
During his visit at sea, Cooper met with sailors and Marines aboard the “Abraham Lincoln” aircraft carrier. He delivered a speech to all personnel on board, expressing gratitude for their tremendous dedication and courage. He also met with enlisted personnel and presented awards to those who performed exceptionally.
Earlier in February, he visited the aircraft carrier with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Cooper stated, “The ‘Abraham Lincoln’ Carrier Strike Group is a powerful team composed of outstanding Americans who take great pride in their achievements. History will mark this deployment as one of the most intense and impactful military operations in modern history.”
The “Abraham Lincoln” is based in San Diego and deployed to the Middle East in November last year, arriving in January this year. The strike group has successfully conducted thousands of combat flight missions in support of Operation Epic Fury, regional security missions, and the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran.
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