NATO Headquarters Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Brigadier General Eric Folkestad United States Army Commander and Senior Military Representative Brigadier General Eric Folkestad is a qualified Chinook and Blackhawk pilot, and a graduate of the Army War College with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies. Born into an Army family in Paris France, Folkestad grew up learning to appreciate the outdoors in Portland, Oregon and enlisted in the army at age 18. He joined an airborne unit where he progressed to become a member of the ‘Golden Knights’ – the US Army Parachute Team accumulating over 2200 jumps. On graduation from Officer Candidate School, he trained as a pilot and flew in Operation Iraqi Freedom and humanitarian response efforts including Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a member of the United States Army Reserve and has served in numerous part time and full-time assignments including 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment at Fort Eustis, Virginia; Deputy Commander of the Army Air Operations Group in Washington DC; and Deputy Chief of Staff G-3/5/7 Department of the Army, Washington DC where he oversaw the expansion of aviation capabilities for the Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. Brigadier General Folkestad’s most recent assignment was Deputy Commanding General for US Army Africa and the Southern European Task Force in Vicenza, Italy. He is currently the Commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo since December 2020. His awards include the Army Senior Aviator badge, Master Parachutist badge, Military Freefall badge, and the usual individual and campaign and campaign awards expected for an officer of his experience. NATO Headquarters Sarajevo 71000, Bosnia and Herzegovina NATO Headquarters Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina He is a 2016 Fellow to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Seminar XXI, National Security and Foreign Policy program. NATO Headquarters Sarajevo 71000, Bosnia and Herzegovina .