I think if you look at how Operation Epic Fury has been conducted militarily, you have to be pleased with how much we have achieved in such a short amount of time, how much we have degraded their military and affected their capacity to defend themselves.
The action to rescue crew members who were shot down in Iran says that, in spades.
But don't listen to me. Listen to what former CENTCOM commander, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, had to say. He appeared on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday. He was commander during the first Trump term, as well as under Joe Biden.
🚨 BREAKING: Former CENTCOM commander Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie just said it PERFECTLY
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 5, 2026
“It takes a year to build an aircraft — and it takes 200 YEARS to build a military tradition where you don't leave anybody behind!”
👏🏻🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZzLvoOVGrI
McKenzie said he drew two lessons from the action: "First of all, the excellence of the joint force and our ability to rapidly pivot to look for a downed air crewman." He said they train for it "endlessly" and that we have elaborate plans to go get them. "It's a very basic part of who we are as American fighting men and women." It was executed "pretty effectively," in his judgment, although some aircraft were lost.
Then came the money line.
“It takes a year to build an aircraft — and it takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don't leave anybody behind!” McKenzie declared.
Exactly. That's what it's all about: the value of human life. That's what animates us, that's why so many Americans were marking down social media, checking to see what the story was, and if the officer had been rescued yet. That's something the Iranian regime doesn't comprehend because its concern is power, not those lives. This is one of the reasons we're proud to be Americans. And our warriors have to be encouraged to know that we would go to such lengths for them.
'WE GOT HIM!' President Trump Responds As Second Airman Is Rescued From Enemy Territory in Iran
The second lesson was a "hard lesson for Iran," McKenzie said. First, the regime wasn't able to find the officer. The Americans outfoxed them, overpowered them, and got to him first, in their own country. Second, too, Iran put out a "broad appeal" to their people to try to capture the officer. "That does not appear to have been successful, and that might be a sign of disaffection," he thought. "You can't be happy with that if you're a senior leader in Tehran this morning," McKenzie said. Excellent point.
As to the overall fight, McKenzie gave a ringing endorsement as to how well it had gone in such a short period of time.
🚨 JUST IN — RETIRED GEN. FRANK MCKENZIE: “If you're at CENTCOM, you've got to be reasonably satisfied with where you are! When I was CENTCOM Commander, if you gave me this situation at +30 days, I would have rejected it as being too optimistic by far!” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yzVDp20FFA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 5, 2026
“If you're at CENTCOM, you've got to be reasonably satisfied with where you are! When I was CENTCOM Commander, if you gave me this situation at +30 days, I would have rejected it as being too optimistic by far!”
That's high praise.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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