Michael Kurilla

Michael Erik Kurilla (born 16 May 1966) is a retired American general who served as the commander of United States Central Command from 2022 to 2025. He presided over the response to attacks on U.S. forces and other unrest after the October 7 attacks, and the U.S. involvement in the Twelve-Day War. Kurilla was born in California and raised in Minnesota. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1988, and was commissioned as an Infantry officer in the Army. During his career he was deployed during conflicts in Panama, Haiti, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and his notable commands have included the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division. Kurilla was stationed in the Middle East from 2004 to 2014, where he was awarded two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star with valor during the Iraq War. He served as the commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps from 2019 to 2022 and before that as the chief of staff of Central Command from 2018 to 2019.