The three airstrikes by the U.S. on Iran’s nuclear facilities were familiar territory for Central Command (CENTCOM) based in MacDill Airforce Base in Tampa, Fla.

News Channel 8 On Your Side spoke with Air Force veteran Gary Clark about the situation and his time at CENTCOM.

“We found ourselves in a similar situation, reminiscent of Desert Shield and Desert Storm,” Clark remarked. “Plans were prepared with flight modifications, and we effectively executed them.”

Clark said there was always a plan on the shelf for action in the Middle East. He said they were ready to move at the president’s command.

On Monday, President Trump announced a ceasefire, but just hours later, Iran retaliated by striking a U.S. base in Qatar, with CENTCOM successfully defending against the missile assault.

“We will continue to aggressively defend our service members and partners in the region. Our adversaries should have no doubt about our resolve or our capabilities,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander of U.S. Central Command.

Jim Cardoso is the senior director of the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida. He described the conflict in the Middle East as “dynamic,” and questioned what relations look like following this situation.

“With the ceasefire, there was a few more attacks going back and forth, we’ll see. It’s hard to — you don’t want to try to predict the future in this region,” Cardoso said. “Strategy is always going to try to go towards de-escalation. Nobody wants this thing to inflame, nobody wants this thing to grow out.”