With Operation Epic Fury underway in Iran, one of President Trump’s key warriors is now taking front and center.

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Since the outbreak of the joint Israel/US airstrike campaign to target Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities as well as destroy its’ radical Islamic leadership, General John Daniel “Raizin” Caine USAF, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), has been standing with War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump. It’s a name and a face you will most likely hear and see more of in the weeks ahead.

An Unusual Nomination

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, as well as the principal military adviser to the president, Secretary of War, and National Security Council.

In February 2025, President Trump began a purge of the military’s top brass and “woke” generals, more interested in DEI policies than in winning wars. He fired the current JCOS’s chair, Biden-appointed Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, and nominated retired Lt. General Dan Caine.

Upon Lt. General Caine’s nomination, Secretary of War Hegseth stated, “Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting, and winning wars. General Caine embodies the warfighter ethos and is exactly the leader we need to meet the moment.”

In typical Trumpian fashion, the President’s pick of the little-known Lt. General Caine was a surprise and unusual. Title 10 of the United States Code that covers the armed services requires that the chairman of the JCS be an active duty member “serving as a combatant, unified or specified commander, or if the officer had served as the highest uniformed officer in one of the six military service branches.”

Lt. General Caine was not on active duty at the time of his nomination.

President Trump, in his nomination announcement, said, “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience. Alongside Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Caine and our military will restore peace through strength, put America First, and rebuild our military.

To become chairman, Gen. Caine had to come out of retirement, return to active military duty, and be promoted to a four-star general. President Trump waived these requirements for Gen. Caine to serve as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and promoted him to a four-star general on the day he was confirmed by the Senate.

In a rare bipartisan vote, Gen. Caine was confirmed 60 to 25 on April 11, 2025, as the 22^nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs to serve who was not on active duty or a four-star general when nominated.  He is now the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.

General Caine’s Background

General Caine was born in Elmira, New York, in 1968 and is currently 57 years old. His dad, Lt. Col. Steve “Cobber” Caine, was also an Air Force fighter pilot. Gen. Caine grew up on Air Force bases and graduated from Hahn American High School in Hahn, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

He graduated from the prestigious Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He was commissioned through VMI’s ROTC program after graduation as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force. He received a master’s degree in air warfare at the American Military University in 2005.

He married his wife, Erin, in 2003, and they have two daughters.

Protecting D.C. on 9/11

In 2001, General Caine was with the 121^st Fighter Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base, serving as Chief of Weapons and Tactics.

On September 11^th, Gen. Caine was one of the pilots patrolling the skies over Washington, D.C. in his F-16 fighter jet, the first time in history that fighter jets had been deployed to protect the nation’s capital. When he saw on TV the second plane hit the Twin Towers, he knew in that moment, “we were a nation at war.”

He then received a call from the White House ordering all fighter jets scrambled to protect DC, with orders to shoot down any planes around DC. Gen. Caine told his wingman that he would make that decision and take the consequences.

General Caine reminisced about that day, “Courage in times of adversity. That is what our country is all about.”

A Long and Distinguished Military Career

According to his military biography, Gen. Caine served in Kuwait with the 332 Air Expeditionary Group, in various Fighter Squadrons stationed in New York, Nevada, Colorado, and was stationed at U.S. Central Command in Florida, and many other locations. As a Command Pilot, he has logged more than 2,800 hours in the F-16, including more than 150 combat hours.

Gen. Caine also served in the National Guard from 2009 to 2016 and in a wide range of assignments, special operations, and joint task forces at the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon, and the White House.

During President Trump’s first term, Gen. Caine served as Deputy Commanding General tasked with eliminating ISIS in Iraq and Syria. President Trump said at Gen. Caine’s nomination…

“During my first term, “Razin” was instrumental in the complete annihilation of the ISIS caliphate. It was done in record-setting time, a matter of weeks. Many so-called military “geniuses” said it would take years to defeat ISIS. General Caine, on the other hand, said it could be done quickly, and he delivered.”

From 2021 through 2024, Gen. Caine served as the CIA’s Associate Director of Military Affairs, as military advisor and CIA liaison with the War Department.

Gen. Caine has been awarded over 20 military awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Presidential Service Badge… just to name a few.

He retired from the military and worked in the private sector at venture capital firms specializing in defense and aerospace industries before being called back into active service as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In addition to giving the president his best and most honest military advice, General Caine states his priorities as chairman of the JCS are to:

• Work with US Strategic Command to maintain the nuclear triad
• Preserve alliances and partnerships, including NATO in Europe
• Streamline the Pentagon

His Message to the Troops

Upon his confirmation, General Caine sent this message to all the 2.8 million troops and civilians of all the services under his command. A few highlights…

“You answered the call to serve and volunteered. As an American, I am deeply grateful for your sacrifices, and as a warfighter. I am incredibly honored to serve alongside you.

Our world remains a dangerous place. Our most basic responsibility is to be a force properly armed, globally integrated, and ready to fight and win the Nation’s wars now and in the future. That is our most important job.

Your service and the sacrifices of your families are critical to our national security. I trust you to make hard decisions, to persevere in adversity, and to do the right thing. Thank you for your commitment to defending our Nation. It is an honor to serve with each of you and your families.”

Since assuming the role as chairman, General Keene has advised the president on U.S. Northern Command’s mission in support of Customs and Border Protection, the military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, the Russian-Ukrainian war, Operation Midnight Hammer to take out Iraan’s nuclear sites, the strikes in Venezuela, Greenland, and now the Israeli-U.S. Operation Epic Fury launched on Saturday, February 28^th.

War with Iran

In a joint press conference on Monday, March 2nd, with Secretary Hegseth, Gen. Caine declared, “Our military objectives are clear. Our mission is to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners, prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders and be ready for follow-on actions as appropriate.”

President Trump has made it very clear that his goal for the mission is for Iran to never have nuclear weapons.

Gen. Caine also provided a recap of Operation Epic Fury in Iran, saying. “We are now roughly 57 hours into the operation in the initial phase. CENTCOM’s focus was systematic targeting of Iranians, command and control infrastructure, naval forces, ballistic missile sites, and intelligence infrastructure designed to daze and confuse them.”

“Coordinated space and cyber operations effectively disrupted communications and sensor networks across the area of responsibility, leaving the adversary without the ability to see, coordinate, or respond effectively,” Gen. Caine added. “This was a massive, overwhelming attack across all domains of warfare, striking more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours.”

He also warned the nation that “the military objectives CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses.”

Gen. Caine also announced more military personnel were on their way to Iran and declared, “To those who would test our resolve, or threaten the United States, our allies, or our interests — understand clearly, we can reach you, we can sustain the fight, and we can scale the fight, and we will prevail.”

“Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge.” (Psalm 144:1-2 NIV)

Let’s Pray

Let’s pray for General Dan “Raizin” Caine, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, our Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump, and for the safety of all service members participating in Operation Epic Fury, and God’s blessing on their families back home. “I pray simply for the biblical wisdom to see what is right and the courage to do it.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at the March 2^nd press conference. Let’s pray this for all our military leaders, service members, and politicians.

I’d like to close with the traditional prayer for the soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces (adapted to include our brave men and women of the U.S. joint forces).

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

(Guide and protect our U.S. service members of Operation Epic Fury. Grant them strength, courage, and wisdom to fulfill their duty and face the perils that surround them. Defend them with Your heavenly grace and give them a sense of Your abiding presence and peace wherever they may be.)

May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. (Deuteronomy 20:4)

Share your prayers for General Caine below.

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: DOD photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist James Mullen.