Michael Erik Kurilla (born 16 May 1966) is a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who has served as the 15th commander of

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

since 1 April 2022. He previously served as the commanding general of

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for Rapid deployment force, rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is r ...

and before that as the chief of staff of

Biography

Born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and raised in

Elk River, Minnesota Elk River is a city and the county seat of Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 34 miles northwest of Minneapolis. It is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and Elk River (Minnesota), Elk River ...

, Kurilla received a bachelor's degree in

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Regis University Regis University ( ) is a Private university, private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1877 by the Jesuits, Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees th ...

, and a master's degree in national security studies from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

. After graduating from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, he was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in 1988. During his early career Kurilla participated in the

United States invasion of Panama The United States invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the '' de facto'' ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for rack ...

and in the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, as well as operations in Haiti, Kosovo, and Bosnia. From 2004 to 2014, he was stationed in the geographic area of responsibility of the U.S. Central Command, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. In 2005, he deployed to Iraq as the commander of 1st Battalion,

24th Infantry Regiment The 24th Infantry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African American soldiers. History The 24th Infantry Regiment (on ...

, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. He was awarded a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

"V" device A "V" device is a metal Letter case, capital Letter (alphabet), letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on #Decorations eligible for the "V" device, certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes a decoration award ...

after a battle in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

in which he "was shot three times but continued to fire back at insurgents while directing his troops." He is a former commander of the

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

. From 2012 to 2014 he was the Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command. He served as commander of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

from 2016 to 2018 and Chief of Staff of U.S. Central Command from 2018 to 2019. He assumed command of the

in October 2019. In 2022, he deployed to Germany to oversee U.S. troop deployments in response to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis. In April 2024 he was dispatched to Israel in anticipation of an Iranian counter-attack following the 2024 Iranian consulate airstrike in Damascus by Israel on April 1, in which several Iranian military leaders were killed. In September he again visited Israel for consultations with defence minister

Yoav Gallant Yoav Gallant (; born 8 November 1958) is an Israeli politician and former military officer who served as Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense between 2022 and 2024. Gallant was an officer in the Southern Command (Israel), Southern ...

. As of November 2024, Kurilla was under investigation after shoving an airman upon being asked to take his seat and buckle up for his safety during a flight to Israel.

Personal life

Kurilla and his wife Mary Paige have two daughters.

Service positions

*1988–2004: Served in a variety of command positions in various infantry battalions during which they participated in the Gulf War and the stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina *2004–2005: Commander of the First Battalion of the 24th Infantry Regiment, Iraq *2006–2008: Commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment Second Battalion, Iraq and Afghanistan *2009–2011: Commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment *2012–2014: Assistant Commander for Support of the Joint Special Operations Command *2014–2015: Deputy Commanding General of the First Infantry Division *2015–2016: Deputy Director for Special Operations and Counterterrorism of the Joint Staff *2016–2018: Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division *2018–2019: Chief of Staff of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) *2019–2022: Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps *2022–present: CENTCOM Commander

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurilla, Michael E. 1966 births Living people Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) People from Elk River, Minnesota Colonels of the 75th Ranger Regiment