Mattis heading to Florida to visit US Central Command

Defense Secretary James Mattis is heading to Florida on Wednesday for a three-day trip to visit several military headquarters, the Pentagon announced.

Mattis will begin his tour at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where he will visit U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which he oversaw from 2010 to 2013.

The command handles Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan and “other initiatives with partner nations to increase stability in Middle East and Central Asia,” the Pentagon noted in a statement Tuesday.

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While at the base, the defense chief will also meet with leadership at U.S. Special Operations Command “to discuss support to global operations,” according to the Pentagon.

Mattis will then make his way to Miami to meet with leadership from U.S. Southern Command, whose area of responsibility includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

The trip is Mattis’s first to CENTCOM headquarters since President Trump unveiled a new war plan for Afghanistan in August.