Frank Gorenc Frank Gorenc ( born October 14 , 1957 ) is a United States Air Force four - star general who currently serves as the Commander , U . S . Air Forces Europe which he concurrently serves as Commander , U . S . Air Forces Africa , Commander , Air Component Command , Ramstein and Director , Joint Air Power Competence Center . He previously served as the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director , Air Staff , Headquarters , United States Air Force at the Pentagon . The general is a command pilot with more than 4 , 100 flight hours in the T - 38A , F - 15C , MQ - 1 B , UH - 1N and C - 21A . He assumed his current assignment on August 2 , 2013 . Early life . General Gorenc was born in Ljubljana , Yugoslavia , present day Slovenia . Frank and his older brother , Stanley immigrated with their parents to the United States from the former Yugoslavia in 1962 when they were 8 and 4 . After arriving in America , their father worked as a tailor , and their mother served as a factory machine operator . General Gorenc said that he was required to go to summer school each year simply because the opportunity for education existed and was available . “ We didn ’ t know the language , ” Frank said . “ We didn ’ t know the culture , and we came to learn ( that ) the United States is truly a land of opportunity . ” Frank went to visit his older brother , then a freshman cadet , during Parents ’ Weekend at the U . S . Air Force Academy , and there he developed his first interest in the Air Force . “ As a freshman in high school walking on the academy campus , you couldn ’ t help but be inspired , ” the younger brother said . Coming from a lower - middle - class background , the opportunities seemed boundless . Military career . General Gorenc earned his commission in 1979 as a distinguished graduate from the United States Air Force Academy . He has commanded a fighter squadron , an operations group , two wings and the Air Force District of Washington . General Gorenc has served in numerous positions at Air Combat Command , in the Pentagon on the Air Staff and The Joint Staff , and at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe as the special assistant to the Commander USEUCOM / SACEUR . Prior to assuming his current position , he was the Director of Air and Space Operations , Air Combat Command , Langley Air Force Base , VA . As a Brigadier General , Gorenc was the Director of Operational Plans and Joint Matters , Deputy Chief of Staff for Air , Space and Information Operations , Plans and Requirements at the Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , DC . He was responsible for developing and integrating operational strategies , organization concepts , policies and plans supporting aerospace power employment . The General ' s six divisions orchestrated Air Force participation in joint and regional war and mobilization planning communities , as well as operator and warfighter talks with allies and sister services . He oversaw the Air Force ' s concept of operations development as well as its interface with Joint Staff and National Security Council issues . Prior to assuming this position , he was Commander , 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing , Balad Air Base , Iraq . General Gorenc served as the Commander , Third Air Force , Ramstein Air Base , Germany . As the U . S . Air Forces in Europe component numbered air force for U . S . European Command , 3rd Air Force supports the USAFE and EUCOM commanders both at the operational and tactical level directing all USAFE forces engaged in contingency and wartime operations in the EUCOM area of responsibility . Third Air Force includes the headquarters Air Force forces staff , a multidisciplinary , professional cadre responsible for planning , deploying , employing , sustaining and redeploying Air Force forces as the supported and supporting air component of USAFE to EUCOM . Other 3rd Air Force units include the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center , 10 USAFE wings and two stand - alone groups . Gorenc relinquished command of 3rd Air Force to Lt . Gen . Craig A . Franklin , 30 March 2012 . Since April 2012 , Gorenc has served as the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director , Air Staff , Headquarters United States Air Force at the Pentagon .