Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, from left, incoming leader of U.S. European Command Gen. Alexus Grynkewich and outgoing commander Gen. Christopher Cavoli at the change of command ceremony July 1, 2025, in Stuttgart, Germany. (DVIDS screenshot)

STUTTGART, Germany — Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich took command Tuesday of the U.S. military mission in Europe, returning in a new role after more than a decade to a headquarters transformed by war on the Continent.

Grynkewich replaced the retiring Gen. Christopher Cavoli during a ceremony at U.S. European Command’s Patch Barracks and recalled his experience in Stuttgart in 2012, when the idea of a Russian push into Europe was an afterthought.

“In those days, we were mostly worried about Israel at this headquarters,” he said. “We were in the midst of another attempt at a resetting of relations with Russia. China never crossed our minds. And we would never have contemplated the role for Iranian weapons or North Korean soldiers on the European continent.”

Besides leadership of EUCOM, Grynkewich also inherited from Cavoli the role of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, putting him in charge of NATO’s combined forces.

The arrival of Grynkewich, a career fighter pilot who previously served on the Joint Staff, comes at a moment of high tension in Europe. The Russia-Ukraine war is in its third year and the Kremlin is getting military backing from the United States’ main adversaries.

Iran, North Korea, Russia and China are aligned and “working together more than ever before as they seek to dominate their regions and even the globe,” Grynkewich said.

Outgoing leader of U.S. European Command Gen. Christopher Cavoli listens to incoming commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich during the EUCOM change of command ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany, July 1, 2025. (DVIDS screenshot)

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said Grynkewich, the military’s newest four-star leader, was the right pick to replace Cavoli.

“He is frosty under pressure. He is prepared for this job,” Caine said. “I’m confident that as the commander of U.S. European Command and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, (he) will join a great legacy of names that include Eisenhower and Cavoli.”

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was the first to serve as NATO’s top military commander, known as SACEUR. His successor, Gen. Matthew Ridgway, was the first to simultaneously lead EUCOM, which was established in 1952, and NATO forces.

Caine also lauded Cavoli’s nearly 40-year Army career, which began in Vicenza, Italy. The son of an Army officer, Cavoli graduated from high school in Vicenza before being stationed there as a young lieutenant.

Cavoli’s service was marked by “the crucible of war,” Caine said, referring to combat missions that included a 16-month deployment in Afghanistan. There, Cavoli led a battalion in some of the most intense fighting of the war.

In his roles as EUCOM chief and NATO’s top military commander, assisting allied efforts to train and arm Ukrainian forces was a top priority, along with implementing new alliance plans for defending Europe.

Although he held the top U.S. military job in Europe for three years, Cavoli tended to keep a low public profile, avoiding the spotlight and media interviews.

Guests applaud at the U.S. European Command ceremony July 1, 2025, in Stuttgart, Germany, where Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich took over EUCOM from Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli. (John Vandiver/Stars and Stripes)

In his remarks to the force at Patch Barracks, he praised the current rank-and-file, and harked back to the command’s history.

“You have faced down the Soviet war machine in Berlin in 1962,” he said. “In the 1980s you defended Israel. You disarmed the former Warsaw Pact. You stood down murderous armies in the Balkans. In the 1990s you were the first on the ground in Iraq.”

At different points in history, the necessity of EUCOM’s mission has been called into question. Before Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the Pentagon was sharply scaling back the mission.

Now, there are questions about whether the Defense Department will reduce forces once again in Europe to deal with other priorities, namely countering China in the Asia-Pacific region.

While Cavoli didn’t address the ongoing debate about the future force posture in Europe, he said his replacement will lead EUCOM into a future that will be “far brighter.”

“General Grynkewich, you are taking over a very fine outfit, an historic outfit, an outfit that for decades has served this nation better than we ever had a right to expect,” he said. “Take good care of this treasure.”

Gen. Christopher Cavoli give his last speech as the head of U.S. European Command at a ceremony July 1, 2025, in Stuttgart, Germany. (U.S. European Command)

Outgoing head of U.S. European Command Gen. Christopher Cavoli passes the colors to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine at a change of command ceremony July 1, 2025, in Stuttgart, Germany, as incoming commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, right, looks on. (John Vandiver/Stars and Stripes)