'' General locotenent'' Constantin Croitoru (born 5 May 1952 in Dițești,

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third most ...

) was the Chief of the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

Staff until 30 January 2009. He was discharged by the Minister of National Defense, Mihai Stănișoară, after it has been discovered that various weapons were missing from a military depot near Ciorogârla,

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs ...

Mediafax Mediafax ({{IPA-ro, ˌmedi.aˈfaks) is a Romanian media company headquartered in Bucharest and founded in 1991. It is a part of the MediaPro Group and its primary line of business is a news and photography service. The company's ''Mediafax Busine ...

Romanian Def Min Sacks Staff Over Missing Weapons Case
accessed on January 30, 2009

Military career

He joined the military in 1974 after graduating from the Air Force Military School. He attended the courses of the Academy of High Military Studies from 1981 to 1983. After graduation, he was appointed Chief Instructor of the 70th Air Division. During his career, he also was assigned as air base and air division commander at the Air Operational Command, Chief of Operations Directorate, and Deputy Director of the General Staff. His most recent appointment was as Director of the

General Directorate for Defense Intelligence ''Direcția Generală de Informații a Apărării'' (General Directorate for Defense Intelligence, DGIA) is Romanian Armed Forces's military intelligence agency, underneath the Ministry of National Defense. DGIA is organized into two directorates: ...

. Croitoru has considerable flight experience; he has lodged some 1,500 flying hours on a variety of aircraft, including

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one o ...

, MiG-21 LanceR,

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the ...

, and

IAR 316 The IAR 316 is a Romanian license-built Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette III manufactured by Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR). Design and development IAR 316 IAR began manufacturing the IAR 316 in 1971 at its plant near Brașov, Romania. ...

Personal life

Constantin Croitoru is married and has a son.

Education

*Air Force Military School, 1974 *Military Academy, Air Force and Air defense Branch, 1983 *Brigade/Regiment Commander Course, 1993 *Improvement Course for Strategic Operation Management, 1996 *National Defense College, 2001 *English language advanced course, Canada, 2002 *Teaching Personnel Training Course, Bucharest, 2006

Appointments

*1974-1984 – pilot, chief pilot and patrol leader, 57th Fighter Regiment *1984-1990 – Chief Instructor, 70th Air Division *1990-1994 – staff officer, Methodical Training Office, Air Force and Air Defense Staff *1994-1995 – Deputy Commander, responsible for flying operations, 70th Air Division *1995-1998 – Deputy Commander, responsible for flying operations, 1st Air Corps "Siret" *1998-2000 – Deputy Chief, Doctrine and Training, Air Force Staff *2000-2001 – Chief of Staff, 1st Air Division "Siret" *2001-2002 – Commander of the 90th Airlift Base *2002-2003 – Commander of the 1st Air Division *2003-2005 – Commander Main Air Operational Command *2005-2006 – Deputy Director General Staff *2006-2007 – Director of the General Directorate for Defense Intelligence *March 2007-January 2009 – Chief of Air Force Staff

Promotions

*1977 –

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

*1978 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

*1981 -

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*1986 – Major *1990 – Lieutenant Colonel *1994 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

*2001 –

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

*2004 –

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

*2006 –

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

External links

General Croitoru's biography on the Romanian Air Force website

Reviewing the troops

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Croitoru, Constantin Romanian Air Force generals People from Prahova County 1952 births Living people