U.S. Army Europe-Africa commander Gen. Christopher Donahue speaks at a ceremony in La Fiere, France, on June 5, 2025. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The reduction of the Air Force’s top command in Europe to a three-star headquarters could herald a shift of more leadership responsibility to European generals, says a new report that argues allies should get behind Pentagon plans for fewer U.S. four-stars.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s push to get other NATO countries to shoulder more of the security load should entail a demand that they also take on the burden of military command leadership, according to a report published Thursday by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Allies ought to propose a Europeanization of NATO’s command structure, the report said. That means “appointing European four-star officers to lead the NATO air, land and maritime commands, with US three-stars serving as their deputies to ensure continued integration.”
Traditionally, three U.S. four-star component commanders in Europe have had the dual responsibility of leading associated NATO commands.
On Friday, though, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa installed Lt. Gen. Jason Hinds to lead associated American troops on the Continent while holding on to leadership of NATO’s Allied Air Command headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
USAFE-AFAFRICA’s transition to a three-star command coincided with the retirement of Gen. James Hecker.
If the Defense Department plans to do the same with its Navy and Army commands in Europe, it could time such a move to the retirements of current leadership or their relocation to other military jobs.
While the Pentagon has not announced any intention of reducing U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa to three-star commands, it would be unusual to single out only one military component in Europe for that step down.
“Other positions will likely see similar downgrades in short order,” according to the report’s authors.
The think tank, headquartered in London, noted that such policy papers don’t represent the views of the organization as a whole.
In the case of the Army, Gen. Christopher Donahue has been in charge of USAREUR-AF for less than a year of what is often a three-year posting.
He could, however, be a candidate for other top Army jobs that would see him leave Europe earlier, opening the possibility for downgrading the Wiesbaden, Germany-based USAREUR-AF to a three-star headquarters.
Reducing U.S. components in Europe to three-star headquarters should eventually see those commanders reduced to deputy roles at their associated NATO headquarters, the report said.
Handing over more responsibility at the component levels should also be a precursor to eventually making NATO’s top military job, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a European-led post, the report argued.
Since NATO’s formation, that job has always been held by an American going back to the time of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
However, there has been debate in national security circles for years about whether the position should eventually be opened to other members.
President Donald Trump’s administration had reportedly been considering such a move earlier this year but opted to put U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich in the post in July to replace the outgoing Gen. Christopher Cavoli.
“The changing of other positions should follow through to 2029 — including, eventually, SACEUR,” the report said. “Non-US general officers currently lack experience in leading at many of NATO’s highest echelons, but a European-led NATO means they need to acquire it one way or another.”
While the United States has been in the lead of NATO since its founding, Hegseth has said he envisions European allies playing the larger role in the future.
At an October meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Hegseth said the most effective deterrent to Russian aggression is “a lethal, capable and European-led NATO.”
Recommendations about a NATO command shakeup come as allies increase defense spending in Europe in line with Trump’s calls for members to spend 5% of gross domestic product on their militaries, up from the current 2% benchmark.
The push for allies in Europe and Canada to ramp up spending comes amid an ongoing Pentagon force posture review, which could lead to troop reductions in Europe as the U.S. focuses more deterring China in east Asia.
While it’s not clear how extensive any potential cuts could be, the Defense Department last week announced that it was scaling back troop rotations into Romania.
