On May 15, the Atlantic Council hosted Lieutenant General Karl Müllner, Germany’s Air Force chief of staff, for a strategy session about pertinent issues in transatlantic and German defense in an era of budget austerity and emerging security challenges.

Lieutenant General Müllner stressed the importance of NATO, outlining reasons for why the Alliance is directly linked to the national security of European states. The discussion featured transatlantic relations experts and touched upon NATO and European military capabilities, the crisis in Syria, the future of German and European airpower, and European weapons acquisitions policy.

Lieutenant General Müllner has been Germany’s Air Force chief since 2012. Before that, from 2009 until 2012, he was the deputy chief for military policy and arms control in the German Ministry of Defense. Previously, he served as the commander of the 2nd Air Division in Birkenfeld from 2007 to 2009.