NATO announces new head of Norfolk command

The Associated Press

Published: August 6, 2012

Captain Ronald Reis, commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau, talks with French Air Force General Stephane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, on the ship's quarterdeck. Abrial became the first non-American officer to head a major command in North America in 2009.

James R. Stilipec/U.S. Navy

BRUSSELS (AP) -- NATO said Monday that France's air force commander will take over the military alliance's strategic command based in the United States, which is in charge of maintaining NATO's military capabilities in an age of austerity and shrinking defense budgets.
Air Force Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros will replace fellow Frenchman Gen. Stephane Abrial, who in 2009 became the first non-American officer to head a major command in North America.
Palomeros, chief of staff of the French air force, was nominated by French President Francois Hollande, the statement said. The nomination was endorsed on Monday by the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's governing body.
Palomeros will be in charge of the Allied Transformation Command in Norfolk, Virginia, whose current focus is "smart defense," a concept under which NATO's 28 member nations pool resources to increase cost-efficiency as military expenditures are declining in Europe and the United States.



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