Brad Cooper

Commander, United States Central Command - Leading Operation Epic Fury

For nine days, the US-Iran war struck mostly military targets and oil facilities. On March 8, an Iranian drone damaged a water desalination plant in Bahrain—the first confirmed hit on water infrastructure in a Gulf state during the conflict. Three people were injured and a university building in northern Bahrain was damaged by a separate missile. Bahrain's water authority said supplies were unaffected, but the strike crossed a threshold both sides had been approaching since the United States hit a desalination plant on Iran's Qeshm Island days earlier, cutting water to 30 villages.

Updated 2 days ago

Admiral, Commander of US Central Command - Directing US military operations

Operation Epic Fury, launched jointly by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, has escalated dramatically through its first week. By March 4, the campaign had struck more than 2,000 targets using precision munitions, destroyed over 20 Iranian naval vessels including the country's top submarine, and killed 49 senior Iranian regime leaders including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The operation represents the largest sustained US aerial campaign in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq invasion. Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles and drones across the Persian Gulf region, killing six American service members—the first direct combat deaths in US-Iran conflict—but US and Israeli strikes have reduced Iranian ballistic missile launches by 86% and drone launches by 73%, establishing air superiority over Iranian airspace.

Updated 4 days ago

Commander, US Central Command (CENTCOM) - Overseeing Operation Epic Fury and Persian Gulf maritime operations

For decades, the Strait of Hormuz has carried roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day — about one-fifth of global supply — through a channel barely 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. That flow effectively stopped after the United States and Israel launched a massive joint military operation against Iran on February 28, 2026. Oil tankers began piling up on both sides of the strait, and by March 3, tanker traffic had dropped to near zero as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warnings took full effect, with over 150 ships anchored outside to avoid risks.

Updated Mar 2

Commander, US Central Command (CENTCOM) - Commanding military operations against Iran

The last time the United States sank Iranian warships was April 18, 1988. Thirty-eight years later, American forces destroyed nine Iranian naval vessels in a single day and demolished the country's naval headquarters at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman. The strikes came after Iran attempted to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the 21-mile-wide passage through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply flows, broadcasting radio warnings that no commercial ship would be allowed to pass.

Updated Mar 1

Admiral; Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) - Overseeing the operational scaffolding for stabilization coordination

A Gaza force is being designed like it's real—but the December 16 Doha conference exposed how unreal it remains. U.S. Central Command convened more than 40 countries to game out command structure, basing, and rules of engagement for a proposed U.N.-authorized International Stabilization Force, but attendees failed to agree on the force's mandate or composition. Italy is the only country to have formally committed troops. Fifteen invited nations declined to attend, and Turkey was excluded at Israel's insistence—a sign that coalition-building is entangled with regional politics before a single soldier deploys.

Updated Feb 16

Commander, US Central Command - Coordinating operations with Syrian government

On December 13, 2025, a Syrian security officer allegedly affiliated with ISIS opened fire on US troops near Palmyra, killing two Iowa National Guard members—Staff Sgts. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and William Nathaniel Howard—and a civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat. Six days later, the US unleashed Operation Hawkeye Strike, with 100 precision munitions hitting 70 ISIS targets across central Syria using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery; Jordan sent F-16s. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called it "a declaration of vengeance."

Updated Feb 5

Commander, U.S. Central Command (2025-present) - Leading counter-ISIS operations in Syria and Iraq

A lone ISIS gunman killed two Iowa National Guardsmen and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra, Syria, on December 13, 2025—the first American combat deaths since dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country a year earlier. Six days later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched Operation Hawkeye Strike: F-15s, A-10s, Apache helicopters, and HIMARS artillery hammering 70 ISIS targets across central Syria with over 100 precision munitions. Jordan sent fighter jets. Trump called it vengeance. Then U.S. forces kept hunting—11 more raids between December 20-29 killed or captured 25 ISIS operatives and destroyed four weapons caches.

Updated Dec 31, 2025

Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) - Operational lead; argues strikes are required to prevent ISIS external plotting.

In the first post-strike readout of “Operation Hawkeye Strike,” Jordan confirmed its air force flew alongside U.S. forces in the retaliatory package that hit 70+ ISIS targets across central Syria. While CENTCOM has not released a formal casualty count, multiple reports citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and AFP put ISIS losses at at least five, including a cell leader tied to drone activity in the east.

Updated Dec 21, 2025