Christopher G. Cavoli | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Born | Würzburg,West Germany (nowGermany) |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1987–present |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse(s) | Christina Cavoli |
| Children | 2 |
Cavoli's opening statement at his confirmation hearing to be commander ofU.S. European Command Recorded 26 May 2022 | |
Christopher Gerard Cavoli[1] is a four stargeneral in theUnited States Army who serves as the commander ofUnited States European Command since 1 July 2022 andSupreme Allied Commander Europe since 4 July 2022. He previously served as the commanding general ofUnited States Army Europe and Africa from October 2020 to June 2022, and before that as the commanding general ofUnited States Army Europe from January 2018 to September 2020.
Commissioned into the infantry from theReserve Officers' Training Corps, Cavoli served in theWar in Afghanistan and commanded a brigade of the1st Armored Division, the7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, and the25th Infantry Division before assuming command of USAREUR in January 2018.
Born to an Italian-American army officer during theCold War inWürzburg,West Germany, Cavoli grew up inRome,Verona,Vicenza, andGiessen.[2] He graduated fromPrinceton University with a B.A. in biology in 1987. As part of his undergraduate degree, Cavoli completed a 22-page senior thesis titled "The Effect of Earthworms on the Vertical Distribution of Slime Molds in the Soil."[3]
Cavoli was commissioned into theInfantry from theReserve Officers' Training Corps at Princeton. He was first assigned as asecond lieutenant to the3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne at Vicenza from 1988 to 1991.
Cavoli was promoted tocaptain and served as an instructor atRanger School between 1992 and 1994.
He entered the RussianForeign Area Officer program in 1995, and graduated fromYale University with aMaster of Arts in Russian and East European Studies in 1997.[4]
In 1999, he became chief of future operations for the10th Mountain Division as amajor and deployed to Bosnia withStabilisation Force, before serving as an infantry battalion operations officer between 2000 and 2001.
As alieutenant colonel, Cavoli served successively as Director for Russia on theJoint Staff Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate from 2001, as deputy executive assistant for theChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2003, and became asenior fellow at theNational Defense University in 2004.[5]
Cavoli became commander of the1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment of the3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division in 2005.[5] The battalion deployed toKunar Province during theWar in Afghanistan with the brigade in 2006. He then commanded the3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, in addition to serving as the deputy commander ofRegional Command West inHerat during theWar in Afghanistan.
Cavoli also served as the director of the Coordination Group of theChief of Staff of the United States Army.
He has held fellowships at the National Defense University, theGeorge C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies inGarmisch-Partenkirchen,[6] and the Strategic Studies Group of the Army Chief of Staff.[7]
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After serving as deputy commanding general for operations of the82nd Airborne Division, Cavoli became commander of the7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command atGrafenwoehr Training Area in July 2014.[8]
He was assigned to command the25th Infantry Division on 25 March 2016,[9] and officially assumed command in a ceremony on 4 August. He was confirmed by the Senate for promotion to major general on 26 May 2016.[10]
He assumed command ofUnited States Army Europe in a ceremony on 18 January 2018[2] after being confirmed by the Senate for promotion to lieutenant general on 20 December 2017.[11]
On 1 July 2020, Cavoli was nominated and confirmed by the Senate on 30 September 2020, for appointment to the rank ofgeneral,[12] and assignment as the commanding general ofUnited States Army Europe andAfrica,[13] combining the originally separate Army commands. He assumed his new command in Germany on 1 October 2020 and was formally promoted by Army Vice Chief of StaffJoseph M. Martin at the Pentagon on 7 October,[14] with an effective date-of-rank on 1 October.
Defender-Europe 21, one of the largest U.S.-Army,NATO-led military exercises in Europe in decades, began in mid-March 2021 and lasted until June 2021. It included "nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas" inEstonia,Bulgaria,Romania,Kosovo and other countries.[15][16] Cavoli said that "While we are closely monitoring the COVID situation, we’ve proven we have the capability to train safely despite the pandemic."[15]
In May 2022, his nomination to succeed GeneralTod Wolters as commander ofUnited States European Command andSupreme Allied Commander Europe was approved by the Senate.[17][18][19][20] He assumed command on 4 July 2022.Secretary-General of NATOJens Stoltenberg took the opportunity to remark on his "entirely new family of NATO defence plans" which had been approved at the2022 NATO Madrid summit and said "You were quite simply the right leader, at the right post, at the right time."[21] Cavoli is the author of a 4000-page plan to discuss at the2023 Vilnius Summit for updating NATO's military commands and preparations.[22]
Cavoli is married to Christina (née Dacey) of Fairfax, Virginia, and they have two sons, Alex and Nick.[8] A speaker of French, Italian, and Russian, she is aForeign Area Officer with a concentration on Eurasia.[7]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commanding General of the7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General of the25th Infantry Division 2016–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General of United States Army Europe and Africa 2018–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of the United States European Command Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2022–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Commander ofU.S. Central Command | Order of precedence of the United States as Commander of U.S. European Command | Succeeded byas Commander ofU.S. Africa Command |
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| International | |
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| National | |
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