Lieutenant General, Pilot-Aviator César Paulo da Silva Rodrigues is currently the Operational Commander of the Azores. He entered the Portuguese Air Force Academy in 1986 and earned his wings in 1991 after training in the United States (T-41, T-37, T-38). He served as a fighter pilot on the FIAT G-91 and as an instructor on the Alpha Jet, and was a NATO instructor at Sheppard AFB (1997–2000). In Sintra, he taught and headed the Department of Military Sciences and the Accident Prevention (Flight Safety) Office. At the Air Staff, he focused on planning and operations. He commanded the C-130 detachment in Kabul (2009) and supported missions in Iraq, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Eastern Europe. He served as Military Adviser at the Permanent Representation to the EU (2011–2014). Between 2016 and 2018, he commanded Air Base No. 4 (Lajes Field). Promoted to brigadier general, he led the Training Directorate and the Directorate for Defense Cooperation. Over the past three years, he undertook a public-interest assignment at the Assembly of the Republic as Adviser to the Parliamentary Committee on National Defense.
