Trump visits Central Command
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump is making his first visit to the headquarters for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.
Both military commands are headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.
Trump, who is also commander in chief of the U.S. military, was heading to the base today on the way back to Washington after his first weekend away from the White House. Trump spent the weekend at his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., with first lady Melania Trump, who had not appeared in public since shortly after her husband took office.
At MacDill, the president is to be briefed by CENTCOM and SOCOM leaders, join troops for lunch and deliver a speech. Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, were expected to attend the meetings.
Trump also planned to meet with Florida Gov. Rick Scott before the flight to Washington.
CENTCOM oversaw a recent raid by U.S. special operations forces on an al-Qaida compound in Yemen, the first military operation authorized by Trump.
A Navy SEAL, Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill., was killed, making him the first known U.S. combat casualty under Trump.
