As the U.S. military’s war with Iran stretches past nine months, the human and financial costs are mounting in ways that are difficult to overstate. Meanwhile, the commander at the center of the conflict sat down for a podcast debut — and talked about french fries.
Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury on February 28, the United States has lost 23 service members, with 866 more wounded. Two additional U.S. airmen died last week in what the military classified as “non-hostile” incidents. The financial toll has reached more than $47 billion, according to a Pentagon estimate — including $6 billion to replace lost equipment and over $29 billion to replenish munitions. For American families at home, the conflict has carried an estimated price tag of $2,000 per household.
Damage estimates to U.S. forward operating bases across the region have continued to climb following waves of Iranian drone and missile strikes. Installations once considered virtually impenetrable have been battered. Families attached to Naval Support Activity Bahrain have been evacuated, and the base’s future remains uncertain. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle told sailors as recently as August 31,
“We’re not getting back in there any time soon.”
The U.S. Navy’s ongoing blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is expected to push that number higher still, as fuel, munitions, and supplies continue to flow to support the operation.
Unresolved questions loom over the February 28 missile strike on the Minab School in Iran, which killed more than 150 people — roughly 120 of them children. Bloomberg reported on October 15 that the Pentagon planned to withhold its internal investigation results until after the midterm elections, even as independent investigations have already been pointing to U.S. involvement in the strike.
The political fallout from the war crystallized on election night. U.S. Vice President JD Vance openly blamed the war for sweeping Republican losses in the midterm elections, in which Democrats recaptured both the House and Senate. In a lengthy social media post, Vance wrote,
“The reason we lost is the war. If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. But everyone knows why we lost.”
A Podcast Debut Amid the Fallout
It was against this backdrop that U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper — one of the key architects of the Iran war strategy — appeared as the first guest on Inside CENTCOM, a lifestyle-style podcast that launched Thursday. The debut episode’s topics included Cooper’s taste for french fries, free-throw shooting, and favorite beaches.
Fleet Master Chief Lateef Compton, CENTCOM’s senior enlisted leader, hosted the show. At one point, Compton revisited a long-running memory about Cooper’s snack habits:
“You like french fries. Most people don’t know this, but … when we were stationed together years ago, my lunch would come, and I would always have french fries. You would see my french fries … and you would at least take one or two. … I don’t think you ever knew that I knew you took my french fries. Is that your favorite food? French Fries.”
Cooper responded in kind:
“We should let the world know: For years, I’ve been eating your french fries. The secret is now out. I never met a french fry I didn’t like.”
The conversation also covered daily fitness routines, memories from past naval postings, a shared admiration for San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice, playing basketball at sea, and the value of patience. The operational pressures facing deployed sailors and their families were not addressed.
Sailors Waiting to Come Home
Patience is something that sailors aboard the USS Spruance know all too well. As of November 5, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and its crew had been deployed for 349 days — a post-World War II record for a U.S. Navy destroyer. No confirmed return date has been given.
Marie Bailey, whose husband serves aboard the Spruance, described the uncertainty facing families:
“We are hearing they’re supposed to come home sometime next month. But we’ve been hearing about ‘next month’ for several months.”
The Spruance is not alone. According to Defense One, the destroyers USS John Finn, USS Mustin, and USS Rafael Peralta have all had their expected return dates pushed from 2026 into 2027, with some deployments potentially stretching beyond 14 months. One spouse of a John Finn sailor described the practical consequences:
“There’s [deployed sailors’] cars that were left on base that have been stickered to be towed and then to be junked. So there’s sailors that are going to come back and have no cars.”
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returned home on October 8 after a 322-day deployment. The extended time at sea raised serious mental health concerns, with multiple sailors reportedly attempting to jump overboard at sea. Now back in port, Lincoln families face another transition: the carrier is relocating its home port from San Diego to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton in Washington State, leaving many scrambling to reorganize their lives after months of uncertainty.
