Patrick Frank

Patrick D. Frank is an American lieutenant general who has served as the deputy commander of the United States Central Command since 2026. He previously served as commanding general of United States Army Central from 2022 to 2026. Frank graduated from St. Bonaventure University's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps in 1989 and was commissioned as an Infantry officer. He has participated in the Gulf War and the Iraq War, Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti, and led the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, during the war in Afghanistan. Frank later served as commanding general of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, Louisiana, from 2018 to 2020, and as the chief of staff of the United States Central Command from 2020 to 2022. Frank became the longest serving commander of U.S. Army Central, and his tenure coincided with the 2026 Iran war, during which he directed air defenses against Iranian missiles and drones.