"I'm pleased and humbled to receive the Senate backing," Gorenc said in a statement. "I have roots in Europe and as an airman have been fortunate enough to spend three tours there, most recently as the commander of 3rd Air Force."

At the Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany, Gorenc will replace General Philip Breedlove, who became head of US European Command and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe in May.

At the moment Gorenc serves as the Air Staff's assistant vice chief of staff and director in Washington.

Gorenc also spent 13 months in Iraq in 2005 and 2006 when he commanded the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base.

Born in Ljubljana in 1957, Gorenc moved to the US when he was four together with his parents and his brother Stanley Gorenc, now a retired US Air Force major general.