TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – MacDill Air Force Base, located roughly 60 miles north of Sarasota, has served as the headquarters of U.S. Central Command for 42 years and is now at the center of Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing U.S. military effort in Iran.
Retired Col. Evelio Otero, who served at U.S. Central Command from 1998 to 2005 and later returned to MacDill as the International Engagement Chief for Special Operations Command before retiring in 2010, said all planning and execution for current Middle East operations flows through CENTCOM.
“That’s the central planning element is right here is at Central Command — all the efforts that are taking place, all the planning, all the execution orders are taking place out of Central Command,” Otero said.
Otero, now a national security consultant advisor with Gemini Industries, said the mission is well-coordinated across branches.
“It provides a joint effort, it provides Army, Navy effort to work together and plan together to make sure that we have a successful and unified plan to execution on the military objectives and support the diplomatic efforts for the country,” he said.
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Otero said the current conflict represents a significant moment in U.S. military history.
“It’s the first time in a very long time that we have seen there is going to be a military action — a military event — and the expected result is that once the military objectives are achieved it will be returned to the people of the country,” Otero said.
He said operations involving the Army, Navy, and Special Operations assets are contributing to what he described as U.S. success in Iran thus far. U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are among the assets deployed, according to video posted Monday on the U.S. Central Command social media page.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the war effort at a press conference Monday, describing Iranian attacks on non-military sites.
“You see the attacks they’re conducting right now. They’re attacking airports. They’re attacking hotels. They’re hitting not just military bases. They’re attacking our embassies directly. They’re attacking facilities that have nothing to do with war or military, and that’s a weakened Iran,” Rubio said.
Following those remarks, Rubio shared on social media that Americans should register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Security updates are also available via WhatsApp on the “U.S. Citizens Channel.”
Rubio posted his message roughly an hour after the State Department called on U.S. citizens to depart “using available commercial travel.”
Areas where Americans are advised to leave include Iran, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates.
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