Former CENTCOM Chief Drops A Line That Hits At The Heart Of Military Honor

Former CENTCOM Commander and retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie praised the efficiency of the American military’s rescue operation to retrieve a downed weapon systems operator (WSO) after his plane went down in Iran.

McKenzie spoke with CBS News anchor Ed O’Keefe on “Face the Nation,” where he said it was important to note that U.S. military forces had been able to get to him first — even though the Iranian regime had offered a reward to anyone who could help them locate him before the United States was able to pull off a rescue mission.

WATCH:

The mission to rescue the missing U.S. airman In Iran was “executed pretty effectively,” former CENTCOM commander Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie says.

“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/rZZy9OA0Us

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 5, 2026

“So, it took just under 48 hours to find the missing weapon systems officer,” O’Keefe began, noting that the area where the plane had gone down was very remote and the terrain was uneven. “What’s your assessment of how the search and rescue operation went?”

McKenzie said that there were “two lessons” that he would take from the way the rescue operations had played out: “First of all, the excellence of the joint force, our ability to rapidly pivot to look for a downed air crewman. We train for this endlessly, it’s a part of every time we send air crew over enemy territory, we have detailed, elaborate plans to go get them.”

“It’s a very basic part of who we are as American fighting men and women,” he added, saying that the plan had been “executed pretty effectively” as far as he could see.

Acknowledging the planes that were lost in pursuit of the rescue mission, McKenzie argued that the man on the ground would always take precedence: “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. You take the aircraft trade any day in a situation like this.”

The second lesson, according to McKenzie, was one for Iran – that the people might not be as eager to help the regime as they had hoped. Even after a reward was offered for help in locating the missing American airman, the Iranian regime was unable to prevent the rescue mission from ending in success.

“You can’t be happy with that if you’re a senior leader in Tehran this morning,” he said.