Profiles

Gen. Erik Kurilla: Trump's hardened fighter and strategic thinker

A four-star general who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kurilla leads US forces in the Middle East and played a key role in the US mission to bomb Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. Who is he?

Eduardo Ramon

US Army General Erik Kurilla currently heads US Central Command (CENTCOM) and played a key role planning the bombing of Iran last month.

Gen. Erik Kurilla: Trump's hardened fighter and strategic thinker

Con Coughlin

last update on 13 Jul 2025

Until the recent outbreak of hostilities between Iran, Israel and the US in the so-called 12-day war, General Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief, was relatively unknown outside military circles.

Known for carrying out conspicuous acts of bravery during his long career in the US Army, Kurilla first began distinguishing himself two decades ago as a lieutenant colonel in frontline combat, fighting off insurgents in Mosul, Iraq, while leading the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.

The battalion’s mission was to conduct security patrols and coordinate offensive attacks against insurgents targeting Iraqi security forces and Iraqi police stations. His style evidently rubbed off. During Kurilla’s tenure leading the battalion, more than 150 of his soldiers earned the Purple Heart. Kurilla was never far from the action and in August 2005 he got caught in a firefight in Mosul, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. It earned him a Bronze Star with valour, one of his two Purple Heart awards, and the nickname ‘Gorilla’.

Planning for Iran

US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch air strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme last month thrust Kurilla back into the spotlight. He is a key figure within the Trump administration’s military hierarchy, with suggestions that his wields more influence than Pete Hegseth, Trump’s recently appointed defence secretary. Kurilla, a known Iran ‘hawk’, played a key role in planning and executing the bombing mission of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Maxar Technologies/AFP — A satellite image taken on June 22, 2025, shows damage after US strikes on the Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran.

According to reports, Hegseth afforded Kurilla an unusual level of authority in the operation. Pentagon officials reported that during the planning phase of the operation, nearly all Kurilla’s requests were approved, from the deployment of more aircraft carriers to fighter planes in the region. Hegseth’s evident reliance on Kurilla undermines the image he had sought to project as a tough-talking leader who vowed to reduce the influence of four-star generals and reassert civilian control.

Kurilla was never far from the action and in August 2005 he got caught in a firefight in Mosul, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds

In a joint statement issued with General Caine following the conclusion of the mission, Kurilla insisted that the Iran mission "was an incredible and overwhelming success". In keeping with Trump's orders, he said the mission did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, to avoid provoking a wider conflict. The degree to which it was successful remains to be seen. Some intelligence reports now suggest that Iran has already resumed work on enriching uranium and may still be working on building a nuclear warhead.

Being persuasive

Kurilla is close with Mike Waltz, the former national security adviser and nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations. He is also said to have spent more time with the president than most other generals. As he approached the end of his tenure at CENTCOM, the Pentagon's top military command in the Middle East, Kurilla may be less fearful about antagonising the president in his views and opinions.

His views are listened to. Kurilla's arguments to send more US weapons to the Middle East, including air defences, have been at odds with the advice of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, who cautioned against overcommitting to the Middle East.

Ariel Hermoni via Getty Images — Gen. Kurilla (L) meets Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant (R) in Tel Aviv on 5 August 2024.

"He's extremely strategic and persuasive about what CENTCOM can do given adequate resources," said Dan Shapiro, who was the Pentagon's top Middle East policy official until January. "That was certainly true in the Biden administration. It may be more true now."

Army career

Born in California and raised in Minnesota, Kurilla attended the US Military Academy at West Point, where he received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, was commissioned in 1988, and served as an infantry officer in the US Army, where he was deployed to Panama, Haiti, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

He spent a decade in the Middle East from 2004-14, overseeing conventional and special operations forces during consecutive tours that fell under the CENTCOM purview. One of the US military's 11 combatant commands, it encompasses 21 nations in the Middle East in its area of operations, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pakistani Army via Getty Images — Gen. Kurilla (L) meets Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir (R) at the CENTCOM headquarters in Florida on December 19, 2023.

Kurilla has served in key CENTCOM staff and leadership positions, including as chief-of-staff from 2018-19. Prior to leading CENTCOM, he commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps. In Iraq, he was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve, and in Afghanistan, he was part of Operation Enduring Freedom, earning the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Strategic thinker

Those familiar with Kurilla claim that he is the perfect person for the job and Hegseth has huge respect for him. "General Kurilla is a bold, dynamic, and inspiring leader who strikes fear into the hearts of America's enemies," Hegseth told Fox News. "He's a warrior through and through, who always puts his country, mission, and troops first. It has been an honour to serve alongside him."

He's extremely strategic and persuasive about what CENTCOM can do given adequate resources

Dan Shapiro, formerly the Pentagon's top Middle East policy official

Shapiro said Kurilla is a strategic thinker and thorough planner. "Through 20 months of turmoil in the Middle East, he has provided a steady stream of options to two presidents and secretaries of defence, and executed them with precision and lethality when required," said Shapiro, who also previously served as the US ambassador to Israel.

"He also understands that the military tool is only one element of statecraft, and it needs to be linked to diplomacy, economic measures, public messaging, and intelligence to achieve policy objectives."

Antonio Castaneda/AP — Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla (R) of the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, and a US soldier speak near Mosul, Iraq, on 31 July 2005.

Kurilla joins other notable military figures who have previously led CENTCOM, including former defence secretaries, retired General Jim Mattis (who served during Trump's first term), and retired General Lloyd Austin (who served during former President Joe Biden's administration). Yet even among this peer group, the central role Kurilla played in planning and executing the Iran mission has made him a national figure. This four-star general's star may yet rise further.

+ / -