Stéphane Abrial

General Stéphane Abrial, French Air Force, as of September 2009, is Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, the only NATO command based in the United States. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made the point that “. General Abrial’s assumption of command here today shows very visibly France retaking its full place in NATO’s integrated military structure.”

He has substantial allied as well as French training, receiving his undergraduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1974 and completed pilot training at the French Air Force Academy in 1976. He served with a German Luftwaffe unit from 1981 to 1984 and with a unit of the Greek Air Force in 1988. During 1990 and 1991, he was commander of the French Air Force’s 5th Fighter Squadron in the liberation of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

In 1992 Abrial graduated from the U.S. Air War College in Montgomery, Ala., and from 1996 to 1999 he served at the International Military Staff in Brussels. During his career he’s held several appointments in private offices of the French Prime Minister and President. He served as head of French air defense and operations, and most recently as Air Force Chief of Staff (France).