TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The White House is publicly crediting U.S. Central Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, for its leadership in the recent airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

In an acknowledgment, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth highlighted the role of CENTCOM during a press briefing, saying, “General Eric Kurilla at CENTCOM did a phenomenal job. He and his staff, all of CENTCOM, policy across the board. This was a joint effort.”

“A deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa,” said General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Retired U.S. Army Colonel DJ Reyes, who lives in Tampa, says that the joint effort was months in the making and likely involved planning that began right here at MacDill.

“That MacDill Air Force Base is a host to two four-star combatant commands, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command,” Reyes said. “For this operation, U.S. Central Command had the lead role in it.”

Reyes added that missions like this are never carried out spontaneously.

“This was part of an overall operational plan with a lot of prior coordination. Like any other operation, it’s planned,” he said.

While the strike was seen as a success, Reyes says global tensions are far from over.

“In this case, you see the United States and Israel with Iran. But there are other players on the world scene that we need to never take our eye off of,” Reyes explained.

Colonel Reyes tells 8 on your side his latest strike sends a global message not just to Iran, but to other countries watching how the U.S. Responds.