Jean-Paul Paloméros (born 13 August 1953 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

) is a retired general of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

and served as

Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

, a senior military post in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

. Paloméros previously served as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the French Air Force from 2009 to 2012.

Air force career

In 1973, he joined l' École de l'Air, the French Air Force Academy and qualified as a fighter pilot in 1976. He acquired extensive experience both as an operational commander and as a fighter pilot, having flown 82 combat missions and more than 3,500 flying hours, mostly on Mirage F1C and

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (' ...

aircraft. He led the 2/12 Picardy Squadron in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

for the 1987 Epervier operational deployment in Chad and in 1990 the 30th Fighter Wing in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

. In 1993, Palomeros graduated from the Royal Air Force Staff College, Bracknell in Great Britain, where he was awarded the Curtis Prize by the British Chief of the Air Staff. From 1996 to 1998, he was appointed as Commander of Cazaux Air Base. This base hosts one of the main French flight test centres, several advanced French flying training squadrons and a permanently stationed

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

an training Squadron. Palomeros has also been deployed in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(1993) as Deputy Commander of the French Air Force during Operation "Crecerelle", as well as in

Operation Deny Flight Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mis ...

, and then in

Kiseljak Kiseljak (Кисељак) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies in the valley of the Fojnica River, the Lepenica and the Kreševka ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

(1995) where he was in charge of coordinating the air-ground campaign during

Operation Deliberate Force Operation Deliberate Force was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in concert with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the ...

. He headed the "Studies and Strategic Plans" Department of the French Air Force Staff in 1998. After being promoted to Brigadier General in 2001, he was appointed as Chairman of the Capability Development Committee within the French Joint Staff and in August 2002 became the Head of the Plans and Program Division. Paloméros was appointed Vice-Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, in April 2005. After being promoted general, he went on to serve as Air Force Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2012. At the end of his time in the senior French Air Force appointment, Paloméros was confirmed by the

Council as

on 6 August 2012 and assumed Command in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, on 28 September 2012.General Paloméros biography
on NATO Allied Command Transformationbr>official website
/ref>Article about General Jean-Paul Paloméros
(archive) on the

French Ministry of Defence , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Ministry , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = Ministère des Armées.svg , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = Official logot ...

br>official website
/ref>

Major military awards

*Grand Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France, 2009) *Grand Cross of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

(France, 2016)GC Merit Order
/ref> *

Médaille de l'Aéronautique The Aeronautical Medal (french: "Médaille de l'Aéronautique") is a state decoration of France established by the decree of February 14, 1945. It is awarded to both military personnel and civilians for outstanding accomplishments related to t ...

(France) *

Overseas Medal The Overseas Medal (french: Médaille d'Outre-Mer) is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces and other nations in assistance to French troops for participating in operations outside national territory. It rep ...

with bar (France) *

Médaille commémorative française The French commemorative medal (french: "Médaille commémorative française") is a French decoration intended to recognize civilians and soldiers who took part in specific missions ordered by the French government carried out outside of French ...

with bar *Médaille de la Jeunesse et des Sports in bronze (France) * UN Medal Bosnia (UNPROFOR) *

NATO Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. Ba ...

with bar (Former Yugoslavia) * Cross of Aeronautical Merit, White Grand Cross (Spain) * Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco (Brazil) *

Order of Abdulaziz al Saud Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, First Class (Saudi Arabia) *

Meritorious Service Medal (United States) __NOTOC__ The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, ...

NATO Meritorious Service Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. B ...

*Santos-Dumont Medal of Merit (Medalha do Mérito Santos Dumont), Brazilian Air Force *Chilean Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit *

Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) The Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) ( eng, Meritorious Service Medal (Military)) is a decoration awarded to members of the Singapore Armed Forces for exceptionally distinguished performance or extraordinary service, or the furtherance of links wi ...

(Singapore) *Romanian Honor Emblem *Russian

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

*Allied Long Service Decoration (Hungary) * PSA - The Presidential Sports Award (United States)

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Palomeros, Jean-Paul 1953 births French Air Force generals Chiefs of the Staff of the French Air and Space Force Living people Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal NATO military personnel 20th-century French military personnel 21st-century French military personnel