By Leo Chiu
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, nominated by US President Donald Trump to become the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), assumed the position on Friday.
Grynkewich, who as a Lieutenant General, served as the head of the Joint Chiefs鈥 Operations Directorate, became the most senior US commander in Europe, whose nomination was announced by the US Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth on June 5.
NATO announced Grynkewich鈥檚 official appointment on Friday via a press release following a formal handover ceremony at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.
NATO chief Mark Rutte welcomed Grynkewich鈥檚 appointment by noting his experience as a fighter pilot, hailing his 鈥渄eep understanding of the threats we face from the skies, and across other domains.鈥
鈥淚 know NATO can count on you to serve with the same steadfast resolve as your predecessors,鈥 Rutte added, according to the press release.
Rutte also thanked Grynkewich鈥檚 predecessor, US Army Gen. Chris Cavoli, for his part in modernizing NATO鈥檚 defense and his reaction to Russia鈥檚 2022 invasion of Ukraine 鈥 particularly via the defense posture in the Baltic Sea amid alleged Russian undersea sabotage.
鈥淵ou have been an outstanding SACEUR, leading with honor and integrity,鈥 Rutte said, according to the press release.
Cavoli had served in the role since 2022.
Grynkewich has become the 21st SACEUR after being promoted as a four star general. Former US President Dwight Eisenhower served as the first SACEUR between 1951 and 1952, before becoming the 34th President of the United States.
Grynkewych, now 53 years old, is a former F-16 and F-22 fighter pilot who has filled a number of command and staff posts since graduating from the US Air Force Academy in 1993 and was promoted to Lt. Gen. in July 2022.
During a recent US Senate hearing, Grynkewych said he believes Kyiv can win against Moscow in the ongoing invasion.
鈥淚 think any time your own homeland is threatened, you fight with a tenacity that鈥檚 difficult for us to conceive of 鈥 if we haven鈥檛 found ourselves in that same situation,鈥 Grynkewych said when asked why he thought this way.
Grynkewich said his job, as SACEUR, would be to provide Trump with all possible options to end the war in Ukraine.
鈥淭he president has been very clear on his objectives in Ukraine are to achieve an end to the war and a ceasefire, and if confirmed, my responsibility will be to provide him a wide range of options in order to achieve that objective,鈥 he said at the time.
As the general鈥檚 name indicates, he has Eastern European ancestry.
According to The Moscow Times, his great-grandfather, Ilya, emigrated to the US from what is now Belarus in 1899 and married Anastasia, a Lithuanian in New York, two years later. They had four children, one of whom was his grandfather Nicholas. His father Gregory was an expert in the field of semiconductors.