Minister of Defense Ehud Barak approved Sunday the decision by the IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, to appoint Major General Amir Eshel as the new commander of the IAF.

Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel will replace Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan. Lt. Gen. Gantz expressed his appreciation for the other candidates for the position. These included Maj. Gen. Yohanan Locker, the Prime Minister’s military secretary.

Maj. Gen Amir Eshel was born in Yaffo in 1959. In 1977 he was drafted to the IAF as a pilot and completed his training as a combat pilot in 1979.  His service as a pilot began at an exercise in the Etzion Air Force base. 

During the course of his service as a Skyhawk pilot, Gen. Amir Eshel fought in the Lebanon War.  He later served as an instructor in the Pilot Training School for two years.

Additional milestones in his minitary biography, according to the IDF Website, are:

1991-1993 Commander of the Barak Squadron at the Ramat David Airbase

1993-1995  Commander of the Kornus 2,000 Squadron at the Tel Nof Airbase

1996-1999  Head of the Operations Branch in the air force staff

1999-2001 Commander of the Ramon Airbase

2001-2003 Commander of the Tel Nof Airbase

2004-2005  Air Squadron Commander

2006-2008 Air Force Staff Commander

2008-Today Planning Directorate Commander

Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel holds a B.A. from Auburn University in Alabama and a Masters in Political Science from Haifa University from the National Security College.

He is married to Avigail and is the father of Inbar, Yoav and Ori.