A new U.S. Central Command podcast promising to introduce the “incredible warfighters” protecting America’s interests in the Middle East has drawn criticism for launching amid the command’s ongoing operations in the Iran war.
Commenters on social media questioned aspects of the series after the command’s official X account posted video highlights of its first episode, featuring an interview of CENTCOM boss Adm. Brad Cooper delving into light topics such as his love of french fries.
“The secret is now out,” Cooper says a few minutes into the full episode, released Thursday, after admitting that for years he’s helped himself to fries from the lunches of podcast host Fleet Master Chief Lateef Compton, CENTCOM’s senior enlisted leader.
The show’s title, Inside CENTCOM, implies
The show’s title, “Inside CENTCOM,” implies that it will offer a look into the workings of Cooper’s command, which is responsible for conducting the Iran war. Seconds into the episode Compton says it will “offer insights into how we operate.”
For the remaining 11½ minutes of the episode, the two largely avoid discussing operations, aside from a passing reference to Cooper’s workouts during Epic Fury, the operation name of the war’s first phase from Feb. 28 to May 5, and broad references to events of the past year or Cooper’s pride in his team’s performance.
Released after eight months of war, it also touches on Cooper’s lunch routine, past mentors, penchant for playing basketball at sea and thoughts on the virtues of patience, noted Washington Post military affairs reporter Dan Lamothe, who likened the podcast’s set to that of the mock internet talk show “Between Two Ferns.”
For Washington Times Pentagon reporter Mike Glenn,
For Washington Times Pentagon reporter Mike Glenn, “a press conference with the admiral would also be much appreciated,” he wrote on X.
Cooper, who told the episode’s host it was his first time on a podcast, appears to have last participated in a Pentagon press briefing on the Iran war on April 16. But CENTCOM does not appear to have intended the show for the press.
It was launched “to highlight and inform the men and women who make up our team,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM spokesman, in an email Thursday.
We believe holding candid conversations, discussing leadership perspectives
“We believe holding candid conversations, discussing leadership perspectives and telling real-world stories that underscore our core values are important,” he said.
The next of an unspecified number of planned episodes will focus on fitness and staying connected with family and loved ones while deployed, said Hawkins, who added that the studio used is not new but one that CENTCOM has had for years.
A video version of the podcast had been viewed 14,000 times on YouTube as of Friday afternoon in D.C., garnering some 615 likes. The comment function was turned off, which Hawkins said was standard practice.
As for its release coming when the command
As for its release coming when the command seems to have a lot on its plate, Hawkins said “CENTCOM is always busy, which is why we prioritize continued communication and transparency.”
The command declined to answer further questions Friday about why it was producing a podcast in-house instead of hosting a press conference or putting Cooper on an existing show.
Officials also declined to discuss the timing of the release, days after Tuesday’s midterm elections that some view as a referendum on the Iran war still simmering in CENTCOM’s area of responsibility, where the command recently conducted new strikes.
Now referred to in Pentagon casualty data
Now referred to in Pentagon casualty data as “overseas operations,” the conflict has proven so unpopular that President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have cited it a reason for the Republican party’s loss of the House and Senate.
Nearly two dozen American service members have died during the Iran war, including 11 killed in combat, with 866 others wounded in action, according to the Pentagon’s casualty data.
Iranian drone and ballistic missile barrages that ran down U.S. stockpiles of interceptors also damaged or destroyed hundreds of facilities on U.S. bases in the region, with the costs of rebuilding as yet uncalculated or undisclosed.
Tehran’s attacks on commercial and other vessels inthe
Meanwhile, Tehran’s attacks on commercial and other vessels inthe Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign that kicked off the war disrupted global markets and drove up fuel costs.
U.S. efforts to secure the vital channel for global energy shipments involved a near-record deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, resulting in hardships and mental health struggles at sea that included eight sailors attempting suicide.
For Cooper, who took command of CENTCOM in August 2025, “it’s been a busy year,” Compton remarked early in the podcast episode.
In response, Cooper said that no one could
In response, Cooper said that “no one could have imagined the trajectory of events that we would be on,” but he praised the command for “doing a fantastic job” that he says inspires him and for which he could not be prouder.
But Navy veteran Elaine Luria, a Virginia Democrat elected this week to a seat in Congress that she last held in 2023, took issue with the episode on X, though she said she respects Cooper, served with him and has known him for 25 years.
“We are in the eighth month of a war in your (area of responsibility) with thousands of sailors deployed in harm’s way that has had devastating impacts on the Navy and the country,” she wrote. “The job is to win wars, not record podcasts. Read the room.”
U.S. military commands often produce podcasts
U.S. military commands often produce podcasts as a means of reaching various audiences. The site DVIDShub.net, a repository of Pentagon media, lists 47 pages of podcast titles. Some have hundreds of episodes, but others have been short-lived.
One podcast by the Army Multimedia and Visual Information Division promised “real talk, real questions, and real insight, plus a little fun along the way” but lasted a single episode after being derided as propaganda on Reddit’s Army page.
But CENTCOM’s podcast debuts at an awkward time as the Pentagon faces intensified scrutiny of its Middle East war and as some lawmakers are seeking to oust Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his part in leading and defending the operation.
Citing Post reported Thursday that the president may instead choose to fire Cooper or Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
