General Stéphane Abrial, who was on exchange to the USAFA (US Air Force Academy) during the fall semester in 1974, graduated the next summer in 1975 from l’École de l'air (‘French Air Force Academy’) at Salon. He completed pilot training, also at Salon, in 1976. From 1977 to 1991, he served as a fighter pilot both in France (in
Cambrai,
Dijon and
Orange) and, from 1981 to 1984, in a
West German Luftwaffe unit. In 1988, he assisted the Greek Air Force in converting its first unit equipped with the
Mirage 2000. In 1991, he took part in the first
Gulf War as a fighter pilot and commander of the French Air Force's 5th Fighter Squadron. Later that year, he attended the
Air War College, at
Maxwell Air Force Base in
Montgomery, Alabama. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the staff of the French Air Force Chief of Staff and the Chief of Defense Staff. From 1996 to 1999, he served at NATO Headquarters, in
Brussels. In 2000, he became deputy head of the French President's military staff, and in 2002 was appointed head of the French Prime Minister's military staff. In 2005, General Abrial became head of the French Air Defense headquarters, in
Taverny, and in 2006 Air Force Chief of Staff. ==NATO Supreme Allied Commander==