Viorel Pană

Viorel Pană was born on 4 February 1964 in Găești, Dâmbovița County. He started his military career by attending Dimitrie Cantemir Military High School in Breaza, from which he graduated in 1985. He continued his studies at the Aurel Vlaicu Military School of Aviation Officers graduating in 1989 and eventually becoming a MiG-21 fighter pilot, being assigned to the Fighter Aviation Regiment from Deveselu.[1]

He continued his service as a fighter pilot until 1992, when he transferred to flying transport aircraft at the 90th Airlift Base, starting with the An-24, then continuing with the C-130 and C-27J. After graduating from the Carol I National Defence University in 2007, he returned to the base, becoming commander of the C-130 Hercules squadron. From 2011, he became deputy commander of the base (at that time the 90th Air Flotilla), and from 2014 becoming its commander. In 2010, he obtained the title of doctor in Military Sciences and Intelligence from the Carol I National Defence University.[1]

During his career as a pilot, Pană logged over 3,000 flight hours, also serving as a C-130 and C-27J instructor. He participated in more than 200 missions in operation theaters in Irak, Afghanistan, Bosnia–Herzegovina, and Kosovo,[2] as well as in participating and leading missions in-country and abroad in Libya, Montenegro, China, and Mali.[1] On one such mission in Afghanistan having to command a C-130 with engine problems during a night flight from Kabul.[3]

He was named Air Force Chief of Staff on 11 October 2017, succeeding Major General Laurian Anastasof.[4]

• 1989 Aurel Vlaicu Military School of Aviation Officers, Boboc;
• 1996 Squadron Officer Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, USA;
• 2000 Postgraduate course in the management of joint operations, NATO Training Center, Bucharest;
• 2005 Operational level planning course, Oberamergau, Germany;
• 2007 Carol I National Defence University, Bucharest;
• 2008 Faculty of Communication and Public Relations, SNSPA, Bucharest;
• 2010 PhD in Military Sciences and Intelligence, "Carol I" National Defense University, Bucharest;
• 2014 Postgraduate course in the field of national security, National Defense College, Bucharest.

• Lieutenant (1989–1992)
• Senior lieutenant (1992–1996)
• Captain (1996–1999)
• Lieutenant Commander (1999–2007)
• Captain Commander (2007–2010)
• Commander (2010–2014)
• Air Flotilla General (2014–2018)
• Major General (2018–2021)
• Lieutenant General (2021–present)