Lieutenant General Poschwatta is Commander, Combined Air Operations Centre, headquartered at Uedem, Germany.
In his capacity as Commander CAOC Uedem, Lieutenant General Poschwatta is responsible to the Commander AIRCOM for all NATO and national Forces placed under his authority through the Air Operations Directive and is in charge of Command and Control of the CAOC.
His primary task is to conduct Peacetime Air Policing within his Air Policing Area. He exercises plans to include planning and tasking of Defensive, Offensive and Support forces made available by the nations.
He advises NATO and local national authorities on operational, logistical, personnel and organizational requirements, which affect the functioning of the CAOC. He supports other NATO and national entities to the extent possible and coordinates as necessary with local authorities.
Since December 2021 Lieutenant General Poschwatta is also the Commander of the German Air Operations Command and the Executive Director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre, both located in Kalkar.
Lieutenant General Thorsten Poschwatta started his military career in 1981. He completed officer education and training at the Air Force Officer School in Fürstenfeldbruck and entered pre-flight training immediately afterwards. After completing training as a weapons system officer, he held a variety of positions, gaining extensive flight and leadership experience in Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' at Nörvenich (1984-1994 and 1998-2000).
Lieutenant General Poschwatta attended the 39th General Staff Officer Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg (1994-1996) and subsequently gained first international experience within the scope of an assignment to the HQ AFCENT in Brunssum as well as on a deployment as Director Joint Operations Centre HQ in Sarajevo (1996-1998).
Following assignments in the German Federal Ministry of Defence and the 1st Air Division (2000-2004), he assumed the responsibilities of Commander of Reconnaissance Wing 51'Immelmann’ (2004-2007). In 2007, in the course of this assignment, he and his wing deployed to Afghanistan for the first time.
In the further course of his career, he never lost sight of operational deployment affairs and gained extensive ministerial experience, most recently as Branch Chief in the Directorate-General for Strategy and Operations at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin (2012) and as Deputy Chief of Staff ‘Operations’ at the German Air Force Headquarters in Gatow, Berlin (2013-2014). During this period, he also deployed to Afghanistan as Base Commander / Senior Airfield Authority Camp Marmal in Mazar-e Sharif (2013-2014).
From 2014 to 2020, he was the Deputy Commander of the German Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command in Potsdam.
He returned to Afghanistan in 2020 as the Chief of Staff HQ Resolute Support in Kabul before taking over his assignments in Kalkar December 2021.
Lieutenant General Poschwatta has over 2000 flying hours on the Tornado
ASSIGNMENTS
Since October 2024 Commander, Combined Air Operations Centre Uedem
Since December 2021 Commander, Air Operations Command (DEU) and Executive Director Joint Air Power Competence Centre in Kalkar
2020 - 2021 Chief of Staff, HQ Resolute Support in Kabul, Afghanistan
2014 - 2020 Deputy Commander, German Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command at Potsdam
2012 - 2014 Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, German Air Force Headquarters at Gatow in Berlin
in-between (2013) Base Commander/ Senior Airfield Authority Camp Marmal, Afghanistan
2012 Branch Chief, Directorate-General for Strategy and Operations (II 3), Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin
2009 - 2012 Head of Balkans Operations Team, Joint Operations Staff, Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin
2007 - 2009 Chief of Branch III 1, Air Staff, Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn
2004 - 2007 Commander, Reconnaissance Wing 51 'Immelmann' at Jagel, Schleswig-Holstein
in-between (2007) Commander, Operational Wing Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan
2003 - 2004 Chief of Staff, 1st Air Division in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria
2002 - 2003 Assistant Chief of Branch, Air Staff (III 5), Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn
2000 - 2002 Assistant Chief of Branch, Air Staff (III 3), Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn
1999 - 2000 Commander, Flying Group Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' in Nörvenich
in-between (1999) Senior Officer National Command Post during ALLIED FORCE in Vicenza, Italy
1998 - 1999 S3 and Deputy Commander, Flying Group Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke’ in Nörvenich, North Rhine-Westphalia
1996 - 1998 Staff Officer, Policy Division HQ AFCENT, Brunssum, The Netherlands
in-between (1997) Director Joint Operations Center HQ Stabilisation Force (SFOR), Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
1994 - 1996 39th General Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg
1992 - 1994 Operations Staff Officer, 2nd/Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' in Nörvenich
1991 - 1992 S3 Ops, Flying Group Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' in Nörvenich
1989 - 1991 Weapons system operator and flight leader, 2nd / Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' in Nörvenich
1988 - 1989 Aide, HQ Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' in Nörvenich
1984 - 1988 Tornado weapons system operator with 2nd/Fighter Bomber Wing 31 'Boelcke' in Nörvenich
1983 - 1984 Training as weapons system operator at Mather AFB, USA, Fürstenfeldbruck, and TTTE Cottesmore, Great Britain
1982 Beginning of preflight training in Fürstenfeldbruck
1981 Entry into the German Air Force
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Gold Cross of Honour of the Bundeswehr
Legion of Merit Officer Degree
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
First Lieutenant 1986
Captain 1989
Major 1993
Lieutenant Colonel 1995
Colonel March 2003
Brigadier General 2013
Major General 2015
Lieutenant General 2020
(Biography current as of Oct 2024)