Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke receives the colors of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command from Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, during a ceremony on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
SEMBACH, Germany — The command responsible for the Army’s air and missile defense mission in Europe welcomed a new commander Thursday amid a period of intense activity that has seen its units deploy to NATO’s eastern edge and beyond.
Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke took over from Brig. Gen. Curtis King as leader of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command during a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne.
The change comes as the command, which focuses on ground-based air defense, continues to respond to evolving threats in Europe and surrounding regions.
Speaking at Thursday’s ceremony, Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, praised King for his work at the helm, highlighting efforts to strengthen air-defense capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank.
Among those efforts was the helping allies field the U.S.-made Merops counter-drone system, which was rushed to Poland and Romania following a spate of unmanned aerial incursions into NATO airspace that the alliance blamed on Russia.
“You put capability down into the (Danube) Delta to ensure ... the alliance can protect itself there,” Donahue said. “Then you picked up that capability and within five days you put that into CENTCOM to help out another command.”
“That is unheard of in air defense history,” he added.
The U.S. military campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, has taken place in the region covered by CENTCOM, or U.S. Central Command. The Army hasn’t provided many specifics about 10AAMDC’s role in the theater.
Donahue also said 10AAMDC troops deployed to Turkey following heightened concerns along NATO’s southern flank amid the conflict involving Iran. It has previously been reported that a U.S. Patriot air and missile defense battery was deployed to Turkey, although U.S. Army Europe and Africa had not publicly specified the unit’s origin.
The command also maintains air defense forces in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.
The heightened operational tempo comes as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to reshape military planning across Europe.
In his final speech as commander, King described a mission that requires constant adaptation to evolving threats.
One of his priorities in recent months was helping build the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, an effort aimed at addressing vulnerabilities exposed by Russia’s war against Ukraine, particularly NATO’s ability to detect, track and defeat large numbers of drones and missiles.
The concept envisions manned and unmanned systems connected through a common data network that can rapidly share targeting information and improve battlefield awareness.
King said the mission was clear: “To counter mass by defeating one-way attack drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, to enable the offense to inflict overwhelming violence on the enemy,” King said. “You must do this to enable success.”
The 10th AAMDC was elevated to a one-star command in 2019.
Although air defense became a higher Army priority after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, officials say Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 underscored the need for greater capacity, particularly in Europe.
Honor guard soldiers participate in a ceremony on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026, during which Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke assumed command of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
A Patriot missile launcher towers behind attendees at a change-of-command ceremony on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke is photographed shortly after taking command of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command during a ceremony on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, attends a ceremony on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026, during which Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke assumed command of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers of a 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command are blanketed in cannon smoke during a change-of-command ceremony on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Curtis King speaks after relinquishing leadership of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command on Sembach Kaserne, Germany, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
A hallmark of the conflict has been Russia’s extensive use of missiles and drones to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses.
Addressing soldiers and guests at the ceremony, Henke said the security environment in Europe has changed dramatically since his previous assignment on the continent roughly two decades ago.
“When Capt. Henke redeployed from Iraq in 2005 and deactivated one of the last two Bradley Stinger Fighting Vehicle batteries in the Army, the experts were saying that air threats to maneuver formations were historical events,” Henke said. “We all know that is now our present and our future.”
Henke most recently served as military deputy director of the Pentagon’s Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office.
“Our challenges are massive, and I am thrilled to join you in this work,” he said.
