Air Force Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich is shown during a humanitarian airdrop over Gaza on March 10, 2024. He has been nominated to replace Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli as commander of U.S. forces in Europe and NATO supreme allied commander in Europe, the Pentagon announced June 5, 2025. (Christian Sullivan/U.S. Air Force)
STUTTGART, Germany — A three-star Air Force general has been tapped to be the next commander of U.S. forces in Europe, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who now serves on the Joint Staff, also was nominated to become NATO’s next supreme allied commander in Europe, the Pentagon said.
If confirmed, Grynkewich will replace Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, who has served as the leader of U.S. European Command and led NATO forces for the past three years.
Unlike other commanders, Grynkewich comes into the job with a direct promotion from three to four stars. In recent history, it has always been an incumbent four-star general to command EUCOM and NATO troops.
Grynkewich, a former F-16 and F-22 fighter pilot, commanded the combined forces air component at U.S. Central Command before serving as director of operations on the Joint Staff.
Earlier in his career, Grynkewich did a stint at EUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart. He is a 1993 graduate of the Air Force Academy.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich is in line to become the next commander of U.S. forces in Europe, the Pentagon announced June 5, 2025. (William J Seifert/Joint Staff Support Center)
His nomination to the dual-hatted job means that the NATO slot known as SACEUR will remain in American hands for now.
There have been discussions about whether the time has come for a European commander to take over the NATO job, which has always been led by an American, going back to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower.
Grynkewich also would come into the job at a time of high tension in Europe given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Changes to how the U.S. military is operating on the Continent also could distinguish Grynkewich’s role from Cavoli’s.
While a major aspect of Cavoli’s job has been coordinating American and allied support for Ukraine, Grynkewich would command NATO and EUCOM as the U.S. is shifting more of that responsibility to Europeans.
Also, the Pentagon has emphasized that Europe must prepare itself to handle the bulk of conventional security on the Continent so the U.S. can focus more on countering China in the Pacific.
While the U.S. hasn’t announced any plans for an immediate troop drawdown in Europe, allies are anticipating that the Pentagon will eventually reduce troop numbers.
In the event of any American withdrawal or reorganization of troops and bases in European countries, Grynkewich would likely be a key architect of the change.
