Brigadier General Christoph Pliet is the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at NATO's Headquarters Allied Air Command, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. General Pliet is responsible to the Commander Allied Air Command for all operational matters, including Air Policing, Ballistic Missile Defence, Article 5 and Crisis Response Operations. He is also responsible for ensuring Headquarters Allied Air Command is prepared to establish an Air Operations Centre if required for an emerging Contingency Operation.
Born in Tettnang, Germany, on 11 September 1962, he started his career in the German Air Force in 1980 and became a fighter weapon systems officer in 1984. After earning his wings, he served ten years as an Instructor Weapons Systems Officer, Training Officer and Executive Officer in the 31st Fighter Bomber Wing, Kerpen, Germany. Following this assignment, he was selected to attend the Federal Armed Forces General Staff College in Hamburg, Germany.
During his career, Brigadier General Pliet served in various command assignments from group commander to wing commander. He held assignments as Branch Chief, Ministry of Defence, Planning Directorate and Capability Management of Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Branch. As capability manager of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance as well as Command and Control platforms, he was responsible for requirements. Promoted to his present rank in 2018, Brigadier General Pliet was assigned to NATO as the Deputy Commander of the Deployable Air Command and Control Centre at Poggio Renatico, Italy, and subsequently, Deputy Commander of the NATO's Combined Air Operations Command at Uedem, Germany.
His operational assignments include Deputy Division Chief of Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command, where he was responsible for the planning of Bundeswehr Operations, Stabilization, Balkans. He also served as Base Defence Commander and Wing Commander, Operations Wing, Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan.
Brigadier General Pliet is a command weapon systems officer with more than 2,000 flying hours and over 70 combat hours in the Tornado fighter aircraft.
He and his wife Bettina have two children.
EDUCATION
1984 German Air Force Academy
1996 Federal Armed Forces General Staff College
2006 NATO Defense College, Rome
ASSIGNMENTS1980 – 1984 Student,
German Air Force Academy, Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany.
1984
– 1994 Instructor Weapons System
Officer, Training Officer and Executive Officer, 31st Fighter Bomber Wing,
Kerpen, Germany.
1994 – 1996 Student,
Federal Armed Forces General Staff College, Hamburg, Germany.
1996 – 1998 Branch
Chief, Combined Air Operations Centre, Messstetten, Germany.
1998 – 2001 Operations
Group Commander, Reconnaissance Wing 51, Kropp, Germany.
1999 – 2000 Commander,
Operations Wing 1, Kosovo Force (KFOR), Piacenza, Italy.
2001 – 2002 Assistant
Branch Chief, Air Force Staff, Ministry of Defence, Bonn, Germany.
2002
– 2003 Assistant Branch Chief, German
Armed Forces Staff, Ministry of Defence, Bonn, Germany.
2003
– 2005 Military Assistant to Vice Chief
of Staff Bundeswehr, Ministry of Defence, Bonn, Germany
2006 – 2006 Staff
Assistant to Chief of Staff, Air Force Command, Cologne, Germany.
2006 – 2008 Commander,
Fighter Bomber Wing 33, Büchel, Germany.
2007 – 2008 Commander,
Operations Wing, Masar-e Sharif, Afghanistan.
2008
– 2009 Deputy Division Chief J5,
Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command, Potsdam, Germany.
2010
– 2012 Division Chief J3, Bundeswehr
Response Forces Operations Command, Ulm, Germany.
2012
– 2016 Branch Chief, NATO's Supreme Allied
Command Transformation, Norfolk, Virginia USA.
2016
– 2018 Branch Chief, Planning
Directorate/Capability Management Command and Control and Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance Branch, Ministry of Defence, Bonn,
Germany.
2018
– 2021 Deputy Commander Deployable Air Command and
Control Centre, Poggio Renatico, Italy.
2022 Deputy Commander of the NATO's
Combined Air Operations Command at Uedem, Germany
Since
05/2022 Deputy Chief of Staff Operations
at Allied Air Command, Ramstein, Germany.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Weapon Systems Officer
Flight hours: 2000+
Aircraft Flown: Tornado, A-Jet, T-37, T-43 and P-149
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Cross of Honor of the Bundeswehr in Gold
German Armed Forces Deployment Medal SFOR
German Armed Forces Deployment Medal ISAF
NATO Medal SFOR
NATO Medal ISAF
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant 1983
First Lieutenant 1985
Captain 1989
Major 1993
Lieutenant Colonel 1995
Colonel 2006
Brigadier General 2018
(Current as of May 2022)