A military leader who served on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group in conflicts against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen stated that high command rejected requests for heavier attacks against the terrorists.
“There are definite strategies that were put forward,” Rear Adm. Marc Miguez told military veteran Ward Carroll in a YouTube interview released on Monday. “But our National Command Authority decided that those—I would call more aggressive postures and more aggressive strikes—was not something we wanted to challenge.”
Miguez noted the widespread knowledge of Iran’s support for the Houthis, saying “that is the calculus that’s handled at echelon zero, at the National Command Authority, with NSA and everybody else.”
According to Miguez, the carrier strike group attacked the Houthis seven times between October and June. “It’ll be up to our National Command Authority to probably be more aggressive with our strike groups and all of our assets, not just Navy,” he said.