Philip M. Breedlove

Breedlove was born in 1955 in Atlanta, Georgia,{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-113shrg87878/pdf/CHRG-113shrg87878.pdf |title=Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session, 113th Congress |publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office |date=2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426150326/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-113shrg87878/pdf/CHRG-113shrg87878.pdf |archive-date=April 26, 2023 }} and raised in Forest Park, Georgia. He received his commission after graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1977 where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha.{{cite news|url=http://www.ce.gatech.edu/media/spotlights/2721|title=General Philip M. Breedlove (BSCE '77) Appointed Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force|work=CEE Spotlight|publisher=Georgia Tech School of Civil & Environmental Engineering|date=October 27, 2010|accessdate=July 14, 2011|archivedate=September 13, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913225400/http://www.ce.gatech.edu/media/spotlights/2721|url-status=dead}}

Breedlove chose a career in the USAF as soon as he graduated from college. From March 1978 and through the next year, he was a student, undergraduate pilot training, at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. From March until August of the next year, he was in pilot instructor training at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. From August 1979 to January 1983, he became a T-37 Tweet instructor pilot, evaluation flight examiner and runway supervisory unit controller at Williams. He then became an F-16 Fighting Falcon student pilot at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida until September 1983. After that, he transferred to Torrejon Air Base, Spain, from September 1983 to January 1985, where he was the F-16 aircraft commander and instructor pilot for the 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron.{{cite web|title=General Phillip M. Breedlove|url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104769/general-philip-m-breedlove/|publisher=United States Air Force|accessdate=October 7, 2020}}

Breedlove became an air liaison officer from January 1985 to March 1987 with the 602nd Air Support Operations Group, Kitzingen Army Airfield, West Germany. He later transferred to the 526th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, from March 1987 to January 1988. Eventually, he was Chief of Flight Safety, 316th Air Division, at Ramstein, until August 1988. For the next two years, he became first an F-16 flight commander, then assistant operations officer of the 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron, also at Ramstein. From August 1990 to July 1991, he was a student at the Air Command and Staff College located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Also in that year, he earned his Master of Science degree in aeronautical technology from Arizona State University.

Beginning in July 1991 and going to May 1993, he was the Chief of Air Operations, United Nations Command and Republic of Korea/United States Combined Forces Command, Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea.

Starting in May 1993, Breedlove was the commander of the 80th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. This position lasted until July 1994, when he became a student at the National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington D.C. In June 1995, he became the operations officer, United States Pacific Command Division, Joint Staff, The Pentagon, Washington D.C., where he stayed until June. That next month, he became commander of the 27th Operations Group, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. From June 1999 to May 2000, he was the executive officer to the Commander, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. For the next year, he was the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. Beginning in June 2001 and lasting for the next year, he was the senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington D.C. In 2001–2002, he attended MIT Seminar XXI.{{cite web |url=http://semxxi.mit.edu/about/messages/from-the-director |title=From the Director: September, 2015 |last=Art |first=Robert |date=September 1, 2015 |website=MIT Seminar XXI |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}; {{cite web |author=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|url=https://semxxi.mit.edu/alumni |title=Find Alumni |website=MIT Seminar XXI |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}

File:Assumption of command 130802-F-PO402-086.jpg, Germany, 2 August 2013]]

From June 2002 to June 2004, he was commander of the 56th Fighter Wing, located at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Then for the next year, he became commander of the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy.{{cite web |url=http://www.aviano.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090823-008.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2013-02-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227064335/http://www.aviano.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090823-008.pdf |archivedate=2013-02-27 }} He then became the vice commander of the 16th Air Force at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from June 2005 to October 2006. His next assignment, which lasted until July 2008, had him as the Vice Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, Joint Staff, The Pentagon, Washington D.C. From July 2008 to August 2009, he was the commander of the 3rd Air Force, located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In August 2009, he began serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington D.C.

On January 14, 2011, Breedlove started his term as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. His promotion to general also was effective that day.{{cite web|title=Presidential Nominations 111th Congress (2009–2010) PN2107-111|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/z?nomis:111PN0210700:|accessdate=December 31, 2010}} {{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In July 2012 Breedlove left his position as Vice Chief of Staff to become commander of the United States Air Forces in Europe.

File:SACEUR change of command ceremony 130513-A-IL200-324.jpg, May 1, 2013|left]]

In May 2013 the Obama administration nominated Breedlove to assume command of U.S. European Command and NATO Allied Command Operations as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. In that capacity, he was stationed at SHAPE Headquarters outside Mons, Belgium.

He is regularly quoted in western media. In July 2013, he told the BBC about his views on the longevity of the Afghan war.{{cite news|date=July 3, 2013|publisher=BBC News|url-status=live|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23157256|author=Jonathan Marcus|title=Nato commander Philip Breedlove on post-Afghan future|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704172616/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23157256|archivedate=July 4, 2013}} In April 2014, he spoke with CNN regarding the Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border.{{cite news|url= http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t3|author=Laura Smith-Spark and Susannah Palk|title=Ukraine crisis: NATO military chief warns Russian troops could supposedly invade swiftly |agency=CNN|date=April 3, 2014|accessdate=February 3, 2017 |archivedate=April 3, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403043939/http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 |url-status=live}}

In March 2015 he spoke on Ukrainian 1+1 channel on which he said that Russia has militarized Crimea.{{cite news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/492528/ukraine-says-rebels-attack-near-mariupol-nato-deploys-baltic-troops|title=Ukraine says rebels attack near Mariupol, NATO deploys Baltic troops|work=Bangkok Post|agency=AFP|date=March 10, 2015|accessdate=March 10, 2015}}

In May 2015, he told the Atlantic Council that freedom is being challenged by "a revanchist Russia embarked on a reaching revision of what once were shared hopes for a stable and mutually beneficial partnership."United States Department of Defense, May 1, 2015: [https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/128716/ Breedlove: Russia Now Taking ‘Different Path’] In February 2016, during his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, he said that "the U.S. military must rebuild in Europe to face a more aggressive Russia, which has chosen to be an adversary and poses a long-term existential threat to the United States".{{cite web|title=Breedlove: US Must Rebuild Forces in Europe to Confront Russia|url=http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/02/26/breedlove-us-must-rebuild-forces-in-europe-to-confront-russia.html|website=Military.com|date=26 February 2016|accessdate=4 July 2016}}

File:DoD leaders gather for strategic dialogue 140508-D-HU462-033.jpg General Philip M. Breedlove with commander of Central Command General Lloyd Austin during strategic dialogue meeting at the National War College, May 8, 2014.]]

On 11 March 2016, the North Atlantic Council designated US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti as Breedlove's successor.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_129181.htm |title = NATO announces nomination of General Curtis M. Scaparrotti as Supreme Allied Commander Europe |date=11 March 2016}} Scaparrotti took command in Europe on 4 May 2016.{{cite news |title=NATO Secretary General welcomes new Supreme Allied Commander Europe |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_130519.htm?selectedLocale=en |publisher=NATO |date=4 May 2016}}

Breedlove is on the board of directors at the Atlantic Council,{{Cite web|title=Board of Directors|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/about/board-of-directors/|access-date=2020-02-11|website=Atlantic Council|language=en-US}} as well as being an advisory board member of Spirit of America, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports the safety and success of Americans serving abroad and the local people and partners they seek to help.https://spiritofamerica.org/staff/gen-phil-breedlove {{Dead link|date=February 2022}} Breedlove is also on the board of advisors of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS),{{Cite web|title=Gen. Philip Breedlove, USAF (Ret.), former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Joins CNAS Board of Advisors|url=https://www.cnas.org/press/press-release/gen-philip-breedlove-usaf-ret-former-supreme-allied-commander-europe-joins-cnas-board-of-advisors|access-date=2021-10-23|website=www.cnas.org|language=en}} a think tank funded by the likes of Northrop Grumman, Neal Blue of General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and the U.S. government, among other governments and corporations.{{Cite web|title=CNAS Supporters|url=https://www.cnas.org/support-cnas/cnas-supporters|access-date=2021-10-23|website=www.cnas.org|language=en}}

Speaking with a panel on the topic of the Ukraine border crisis at the Atlantic Council in December 2018, he outlined a range of measures which should be considered to counter Russian aggression such as financial targeting of certain Russian oligarchs, professionalization of Ukrainian military units, and providing to the Armed Forces of Ukraine shore-based cruise missiles and long-range precision artillery.Atlantic Council of the U.S. C-Span. (5 December 2018). "Atlantic Council Discussion on Ukraine-Russia Conflict-Gen. Philip Breedlove". approx. 13 mins in. [https://www.c-span.org/video/?455482-2/ukraine-russia-conflict-general-philip-breedlove C-Span website] Retrieved 25 March 2022.

In March 2022, days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Breedlove was one of the first voices to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. In the "Open Letter Calling for Limited No-Fly Zone" signed by 26 other colleagues, he stated that a "U.S.- NATO enforced No-Fly Zone to protect humanitarian corridors and additional military means for Ukrainian self-defense are desperately needed, and needed now."{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhartung/2022/03/08/support-ukraine-but-dont-implement-a-no-fly-zone/ |title=Support Ukraine, but Don't Implement a No-Fly Zone }}

In June 2022 Breedlove appeared on a radio programme with Times of London and called for a muscular approach to the Putinian wheat crisis, which was rooted in blockade of the Port of Odesa by the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and chiefly affected Middle Eastern and North African countries.{{cite news |title=Will NATO Navies bust the Russian blockade? {{!}} General Philip Breedlove |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69zKvMwXY-A |agency=YouTube |publisher=Times Radio |date=7 June 2022}}{{cite news |title=Middle East faces severe wheat crisis over war in Ukraine |url=https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-faces-severe-wheat-crisis-over-war-in-ukraine/a-61056418 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=9 May 2022}}

In June 2024 Breedlove, John Herbst, and 39 others suggested a Ukraine policy for NATO, as its 75th annual summit got under way in Washington.{{cite news |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/memo-to/a-bold-agenda-for-the-washington-summit/ |title=Memo to the president: A bold agenda for the Washington summit: How to advance vital US interests by helping Ukraine win and defining its path to NATO membership |date=10 October 2023 }}

In August 2024 Breedlove was the chief signatory of a letter to President Biden in which the group decried "unintentionally seizing defeat from the jaws of victory". They said that the US "was providing enough weaponry to ensure a stalemate but not sufficient to help Ukraine recapture territory seized by Russia," while they "argue the administration is inhibited by fear of triggering a Russian escalation."{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/17/us-ukraine-arms-supply-retired-generals-officials |title=19 retired generals and ex-officials urge US to increase arms supplies to Ukraine |newspaper=The Guardian |date=17 August 2022 |last1=Borger |first1=Julian }}

Breedlove received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member General Joseph W. Ralston, USAF, in 2014.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}{{cite news |title=2014 Summit Highlights Photo | url= https://achievement.org/summit/2014/|quote= Members of the American Academy of Achievement: Admiral William H. McRaven, USN, General Philip M. Breedlove, USAF, and General David Petraeus, USA.}}

On May 1, 2015, Breedlove was presented with the Atlantic Council's Distinguished Military Leadership Award.

Source:

Source:

{{USAF DOR O-10|June 1, 1977|Dec. 10, 1979|Dec. 10, 1981|Nov. 1, 1988|June 1, 1993|Jan. 1, 1998|Oct. 1, 2003|June 23, 2006| July 21, 2008|Jan. 14, 2011}}

• List of commanders of USAFE

{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2009/September%202009/0909photochart.pdf Photochart of USAF Leadership]
• {{C-SPAN|63653}}

{{S-start}}

{{s-mil}}

{{s-bef|before=Robert D. Bishop Jr.}}

{{s-ttl|title=Commander of Third Air Force|years=2006–2008}}

{{s-aft|after=Frank Gorenc}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Daniel J. Darnell}}

{{s-ttl|title=Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements of the United States Air Force|years=2009–2011}}

{{s-aft|after=Herbert J. Carlisle}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Carrol H. Chandler}}

{{s-ttl|title=Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|years=2011–2012}}

{{s-aft|after=Larry O. Spencer}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=Mark A. Welsh III}}

{{s-ttl|title=Commander of United States Air Forces in Europe|years=2012–2013}}

{{s-aft|rows=2|after=Noel T. Jones
{{small|Acting}}}}

|-

{{s-non|reason=Position established}}

{{s-ttl|title=Commander of United States Air Forces in Africa|years=2013}}

|-

{{s-bef|before=James G. Stavridis}}

{{s-ttl|title=Commander of the United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe|years=2013–2016}}

{{s-aft|after=Curtis M. Scaparrotti}}

{{S-end}}

{{SACEUR}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breedlove, Philip M.}}

Category:1955 births

Category:Living people

Category:United States Air Force generals

Category:Georgia Tech alumni

Category:Air Command and Staff College alumni

Category:Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering alumni

Category:National War College alumni

Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit

Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal

Category:Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle, Class I

Category:Vice chiefs of staff of the United States Air Force

Category:NATO Supreme Allied Commanders

Category:People from Forest Park, Georgia

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Georgia)

Category:Members of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America