From left, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, Army Gen. Erik Kurilla and Vice Adm. George Wikoff render honors in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 1, 2024. Cooper handed command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet to Wikoff in a ceremony presided over by Kurilla, who leads U.S. Central Command. (U.S. Naval Forces Central Command)
NAPLES, Italy — A Navy leader with extensive experience in fighter squadrons and the service’s operations in the Middle East has assumed command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet.
Vice Adm. George Wikoff relieved Vice Adm. Brad Cooper on Thursday in a ceremony presided over by Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, the Navy said in a statement.
Wikoff takes the helm amid soaring tensions in the region, as Navy ships in the Red Sea come under increasing attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
On Tuesday, an anti-ship cruise missile launched from Houthi-controlled territory came within a nautical mile of the destroyer USS Gravely before being intercepted by the ship’s close-in weapons system.
The attack was the closest a missile has come to a Navy ship since the rebel group began targeting vessels in the Red Sea almost three months ago.
Days before, the destroyer USS Carney was targeted by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden. That missile also was intercepted.
On Thursday, F/A-18 Super Hornet jets launched from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carried out strikes on a Houthi drone ground control station and 10 drones determined to be an imminent threat to ships.
The same day, U.S. forces also shot down another aerial drone over the sea and conducted strikes against a surface drone heading toward the international shipping lane.
Since Nov. 19, the Houthis have launched more than 36 attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The group has vowed to continue targeting American and British military vessels until there is a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The change of command comes on the heels of President Joe Biden’s announcement that he has decided on the U.S. response to a drone strike Sunday on a base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and injured dozens more.
An umbrella group of Iran-backed militants, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, is blamed by the U.S. for that attack.
The U.S. has at least six combat ships in the Red Sea, including Eisenhower and five destroyers. Besides Carney and Gravely, the other destroyers deployed there are USS Laboon, USS Mason and USS Thomas Hudner.
Wikoff’s command also includes the newly formed multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian, tasked with protecting ships in the sea.
The New Jersey native will lead other Navy operations in the Middle East, such as Combined Maritime Forces, a drone and artificial intelligence task force and a Coast Guard unit focused on interdicting illegal drugs and weapons, primarily smuggled out of Iran.
Wikoff’s Navy career spans more than three decades. Most recently, he was acting commander of Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He served fighter squadrons VF-102 and VF-154 aboard the aircraft carriers USS America and USS Kitty Hawk, respectively, according to his service biography.
Cooper had been in charge of NAVCENT/5th Fleet since 2021. He was credited with, among other accomplishments, the growth of international participation in regional security operations, the Navy said. His next assignment is as deputy commander of CENTCOM in Tampa, Fla.
