Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, now the deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, has been nominated to receive his fourth star and to lead the command.

If confirmed by Congress, Harrigian would succeed Gen. Tod Wolters, who on March 15 was nominated to be the next supreme allied commander of NATO.

The Senate received Harrigian’s nomination for his fourth star Monday. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek confirmed he has been nominated to command USAFE.

Harrigian is a fighter pilot who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1985. He has more than 4,100 hours flying the F-22, F-15C and MQ-1 Predator, and flew combat missions to support the invasion of Panama, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Inherent Resolve.

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Harrigian has been USAFE’s deputy commander since last September. He previously headed U.S. Air Forces Central Command and the combined forces air component of U.S. Central Command for two years, where he oversaw the air wars against the Taliban and ISIS. And he served as the director of the F-35 Integration Office at Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon from April 2015 to July 2016.

During his time in the Middle East, Harrigian closely watched how Russian military forces operated in Syria. Shortly before leaving AFCENT last August, Harrigian said in an interview with Defense News that the Russians used their Syria mission as an opportunity to test their newest military capabilities, and also to get a chance to observe American aircraft such as the F-22. But the Air Force also gathered information on how Russia used assets such as their Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets.

“Certainly, we’ve learned a lot about some of the capabilities that the Russians have brought to Syria,” Harrigian said.

USAFE-AFAFRICA has a wide area of responsibility. As its commander, Harrigian will oversee operations to support combatant commanders operating across 104 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as well as in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

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