Air Force Downgrading USAFE, NATO Air Commander Job to 3 Stars

The Pentagon is downgrading a significant four-star Air Force command, turning the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa into a three-star billet. 

The move is being carried out under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plan to reduce the number of senior military officers, particularly four-star generals. 

“In alignment with the Department of War directive to reduce general and flag officer positions, the nominee for the United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa commander is at the lieutenant general grade,” an Air Force official told Air & Space Forces Magazine, using the secondary title approved by a recent executive order. 

The USAFE-AFA job is currently vacant following the retirement of Gen. James B. Hecker over the summer. That made the change easier to carry out as it didn’t require removing a currently serving officer from the position.

Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, the current three-star deputy commander of USAFE-AFA, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to retain his rank but become the commander. Hinds was also nominated to serve as the head of NATO Allied Air Command, an Air Force official and a NATO official said. His nomination was sent to the Senate on Sept. 29.

As deputy commander, Hinds has already been serving in the position in an acting role. Hinds, an F-15C and F-22 pilot, has served as deputy commander of USAFE-AFA since September 2024. He was previously the director of operations for U.S. European Command.

In May, Hegseth issued a memo directing the Pentagon to slash the number of senior generals and admirals. He called for a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star generals and flag officers and a 10 percent reduction in general officers overall. Hegseth also said at the time he was directing a sweeping review of U.S. military commands and staffs, signaling a likely consolidation.

Hegseth and President Donald Trump addressed high-ranking generals and admirals at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 30,  where the Pentagon chief discussed his plans to overhaul the military.

“The entire promotion process, including evaluations of warfighting capabilities, is being thoroughly reexamined,” Hegseth said. “We’ve already done a lot in this area, but more changes are coming soon.”

Each of the military services are allowed by law to have a certain number of four-star officers. Joint positions that are four-star jobs by statute, such as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Chief and Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau; and the heads of the military’s 11 combatant commands, do not count against that number. There are currently more than 35 four-star generals and admirals across the military.

Hegseth’s May memo identified “realignment of the Unified Command Plan” and its 11 associated combatant commands as one way to reduce the number of top officers. The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa serves as the air component commander for two combatant commands: U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command. Hegseth has reportedly considered combining or eliminating some combatant commands, including folding U.S. Africa Command into U.S. European Command. 

The Pentagon has not confirmed any consolidation of its combatant commands.

In Europe, the U.S. European Command boss is Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, who has a dual-hatted role as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. 

Traditionally, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander is also the head of NATO Allied Air Command, a role that is set to continue. Likewise, the Army’s top general in Europe, the four-star Gen. Chris Donahue, leads NATO’s Allied Land Command. 

Downgrading the USAFE-AFA commander to three stars would effectively demote the U.S. commander below his or her NATO counterparts.

Air & Space Forces Magazine has previously reported that the service was also considering reducing the rank of Air Force Materiel Command and Air Mobility Command in addition to USAFE-AFA. In the case of AFMC, Gen. Duke Z. Richardson retired as its commander over the summer, which would make it easier to turn the job into a three-star role. Air Mobility Command is led by Gen. John D. Lamontagne, who took over in September 2024 as a newly promoted four-star general in what is traditionally a three-year assignment.

The Air Force has had the most four-star billets among the services, with nine. In addition to the Chief of Staff and Vice Chief jobs, the heads of six major commands have been four-stars in recent years: USAFE-AFA, AMC, AFMC, Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces, and Air Force Global Strike Command.