Jean-Paul Paloméros (born 13 August 1953 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) is a retired general of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

and served as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a senior military post in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. 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 supportin ...

of the French Air Force from 2009 to 2012.

Air force career

In 1973, he joined l'

École de l'Air École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, 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, delta wing, 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 ...

aircraft. He led the 2/12 Picardy Squadron in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), 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 Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

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 Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. In 1993, Palomeros graduated from the Royal Air Force Staff College, Bracknell in Britain, where he was awarded the Curtis Prize by Britain's Chief of the Air Staff. From 1996 to 1998, he was appointed as Commander of

Cazaux Air Base Cazaux Air Base () is a French Air and Space Force () base. The base is located in the village of Cazaux, part of the town of La Teste-de-Buch, and is approximately southwest of Bordeaux. Overview The air base was created at the behest of C ...

. 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 an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an training Squadron. Palomeros has also been deployed in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) 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 Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(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 ...

, and then in

Kiseljak Kiseljak ( sr-cyrl, 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 ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

(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 NATO, in concert with the UNPROFOR ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), which had threatened and attacked UN-desig ...

. 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 Supreme Allied Commander Transformation on 6 August 2012 and assumed Command in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, on 28 September 2012.General Paloméros biography
on

NATO Allied Command Transformation The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath ...

br>official website
/ref>Article about General Jean-Paul Paloméros
(archive) on the French Ministry of Defencebr>official website
/ref>

Major military awards

*Grand Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France, 2009) *Grand Cross of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) 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 establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

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

Médaille de l'Aéronautique The Aeronautical Medal () 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 the field of aeronautics. Originally e ...

(France) * Overseas Medal with bar (France) *

Médaille commémorative française The French commemorative medal () 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 national territory after 1 March 1991. It wa ...

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 The Cross of Aeronautical Merit () is Spain's military award for gallantry or merit in the air. The award can be made in war or at times of peace. It is awarded to members of the Spanish Armed Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and attrib ...

, White Grand Cross (Spain) * Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco (Brazil) *

Order of Abdulaziz al Saud The Order of King Abdulaziz (Arabic: وسام الملك عبد العزيز Wisām al-malik ‘Abd al-‘Azīz) is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971 ...

, First Class (Saudi Arabia) *

Meritorious Service Medal (United States) The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves with outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States. Introduced in 1969, the MSM was ...

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. Ba ...

*Santos-Dumont Medal of Merit (Medalha do Mérito

Santos Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont (self-stylised as Alberto Santos=Dumont; 20 July 1873 – 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-t ...

), Brazilian Air Force *Chilean Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit *

Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) The Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) () is a Awards and decorations of the Singapore Armed Forces, decoration awarded to members of the Singapore Armed Forces for exceptionally distinguished performance or extraordinary service, or the furtherance ...

(Singapore) *Romanian Honor Emblem *Russian

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

*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 Officers of the Legion of Honour 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 Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)