U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jason Hinds, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa deputy commander, talks with German air force Brig. Gen. Gero von Fritschen in Picauville, France, June 4, 2025. Hinds has been nominated to stay at Ramstein Air Base and take over what was a four-star command, but will now be a three-star command position. ( Heather Cozad Staley/U.S. Air Force)
For the first time in decades, the next commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa will wear fewer stars on his shoulders than his U.S. military counterparts in the theater.
President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds to lead the command nearly three months after Gen. James Hecker, the previous commander, retired following 36 years of service.
If Congress approves his nomination, Hinds is not up for a fourth star, according to the Air Force, as the billet has been re-designated a three-star command position.
“In alignment with the Department of War directive to reduce general and flag officer positions, the nominee for (USAFE-AFAFRICA) commander is at the lieutenant general grade,” an Air Force official stated in a statement Thursday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in May ordered the military’s active components to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20% and the National Guard to slash general officers by a minimum of 20%.
An F-22 pilot and former F-22 fighter squadron commander, Hinds already is in place. He served as the deputy commander under Hecker launchning in September 2024 and took over as the interim commander when Hecker retired, according to the Air Force.
Now retired-Gen. James B. Hecker may finish up being the last four-star U.S. Air Forces in Europe–Air Forces Africa commander, as the billet has been redesignated a three-star command position. He is seen here June 27, 2022, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, as he assumed command of both USAFE-AFAFRICA and NATO Allied Air Command. (Stars and Stripes)
Air & Space Forces Magazine first reported the downgrading in rank of the USAFE-AFAFRICA commander billet earlier this week.
Hinds’ nomination was sent to the Senate on Monday. He’s also in line to serve as the head of NATO’s Allied Air Command and director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre at Ramstein Air Base, according to the Air Force.
As USAFE-AFAFRICA commander, Hinds will oversee some 35,000 active-duty, Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian employees, spanning 104 nations and eight wings.
He’ll succeed a long line of four-star generals, some of whom later served as the Air Force chief of staff, such as Gen. Mark Welsh III from 2012 to 2016; Gen. John Jumper, 2001 to 2005; and Gen. Michael Ryan, 1997 to 2001.
It’s not the first time the rank structure has been tarobtained in Europe. In 2013, the Pentagon initially called for building the command a three-star position but later reversed that.
The other top U.S. military command positions in Europe remain four-star billets for now. That includes the U.S. European Command led by Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, who has a dual-hatted role as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. For the Army, Gen. Chris Donahue leads U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Land Command.
Vice Adm. George Wikoff, meanwhile, has been nominated for a fourth star and is the choice to be the new commander of Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples.
The Air Force has also created similar relocates at lower levels. Col. Beau Diers took command of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in July. That command had been held by a brigadier general for more than two decades.
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