Gen. Mark Milley, whose chairmanship of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff ends in the fall, arrived in Israel on Friday to talk with counterparts.
“They will address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region,” stated Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for the general.
“The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, landed in Israel last night and met this morning with LTG Herzi Halevi. General Milley will also meet with Israel’s defense minister and officials from Israel’s security institutions,” the IDF tweeted.
“During the meetings, the officials discussed regional security challenges, opportunities for increased operational cooperation, coordination to defend against regional threats and other items of mutual strategic interest,” it added. “The U.S. and Israel maintain a strong military-to-military relationship as key partners committed to maintaining peace and security in the Middle East.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is scheduled to visit Israel on March 8-9.
“Austin will be the fourth senior Biden administration official to visit Israel since the current right-wing government was sworn in two months ago,” per Axios.