Defense

Trump to visit US Central Command

President Trump will make his first trip to U.S. Central Command (Centcom) in Tampa, Fla., on Monday.

During his visit to MacDill Air Force Base, the sprawling base that sits on the Tampa Bay, he’ll receive briefings from both Centcom and the U.S. Special Operations Command that are based there.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer added that Trump plans to share lunch with soldiers stationed at MacDill before giving a speech to the soldiers.

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National security adviser Michael Flynn and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford will travel with the president.

The military’s command plan carves up the world into nine different command components, with Centcom covering the Middle East as well as central and southern Asia.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis previously led Centcom as a Marine general during the Obama administration before retiring in 2013.

Monday’s trip is Trump’s first major public visit to troops since his inauguration. This week, he traveled to Dover Air Force base to attend the funeral for the Navy SEAL who died in a recent counterterrorism raid in Yemen.