Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich
Commander, Ninth Air Force
Alexus G. “Grynch” Grynkewich earned an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He holds an M.A. In history from the University of Georgia, and has completed many other courses afforded him through the U.S. military. He did his pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma and was an F-16C student at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. He later became an F-16C instructor pilot.
In addition to assignments in the U.S., he has been stationed in South Korea and Germany, rising through the ranks until the present when in July 2022 he became Commander, Ninth Air Force, and Combined Forces Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command. He has also held a number of staff assignments.
Grynkewich is a command pilot with more than 2,300 flying hours.
In the News…
The U.S. Air Force released video footage documenting an encounter between a Russian SU-35 fighter jet flying dangerously close to several American drone aircraft over Syria. They set off flares and forced the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive maneuvers. The flares were attached to parachutes.
Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewish, Commander of the Ninth Air Force in the Middle East, said the drones’ operation over Syria was on a mission against the Islamic State when the Russian aircraft “began harassing the drones.”
“Russian military aircraft engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior while interacting with U.S. aircraft in Syria,” he said, adding that the actions threaten the safety of the U.S. and Russian forces. “We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS.”
The Air Force did not relay any details of the drone operation nor of the area of Syria where the Russian interaction took place.
