Gen. Tom Hobbins retired as Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Commander, NATO Allied Air Component Command, Ramstein; and Director, Joint Air Power Competence Centre, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. There, he was responsible for Air Force activities in a theater spanning three continents, covering more than 20 million square miles, 93 countries and territories, and possessing one-fourth of the world’s population and about one-third of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.
General Hobbins entered the Air Force as a graduate of Officer Training School. He has commanded a MAJCOM, a NATO Component, a numbered air force, two tactical fighter wings and a composite air group. He has served as the Director of Plans and Operations for U.S. Forces Japan, Director of Plans and Policy for U.S. Atlantic Command, the Director of Operations for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and as a Deputy Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. As USAFE’s Director of Operations, General Hobbins was responsible for the planning, bed-down and execution of combat forces in Europe for Operation Allied Force (Kosovo Air Campaign) . As 12th Air Force Commander, the 12th Air Force Air Operations Center deployed to Southwest Asia as operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom’s alternate AOC. As Deputy Chief of Staff for War fighting Integration and the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer, General Hobbins developed and implemented the Air Force’s C4ISR Roadmap for networks enabling predictive battle-space awareness and targeting. As Director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre, he guided the development of NATO’s C4ISR and Unmanned Aerial Systems Roadmaps. Finally, as the USAFE Commander, General Hobbins directed the Organize, Train and Equip functions for 28,500 mission ready Airmen in Europe, and oversaw European Theater Air Defense missions for POTUS and NATO Summits. He also served as NATO’s and AFRICOM’s senior air transformation advisor.
General Hobbins received a BS in Business Finance from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Troy State University. He attended the Armed Forces Staff College and Air War College and has numerous university sponsored civilian and military leadership courses to his credit.
A command pilot, the general has more than 5,100 flying hours, primarily in fighter aircraft.



