Lieutenant General Leonard-Gabriel Baraboi started his military career in 1998 and has flown IAK-52, L-39ZA, IAR 99 HAWK, MiG 21 LanceR and C-27J as a pilot and flight instructor, logging more than 1,400 hours. Throughout his career, Lieutenant General Baraboi has performed executive and command functions, both in Romania and in operational theatres.

Lieutenant General Baraboi has completed numerous military and civilian education courses. Most notedly he is a graduate of the US Air Command and Staff College in 2011 and the US Air War College in 2017 and holds several master’s degrees. Between December 2017 and April 2023, he commanded the 95th Air Base in Bacău and the 71st Air Base in Câmpia Turzii. In May 2024, he was promoted from Deputy to Chief of the Romanian Air Force Staff. His guiding principle is ‘Only as a team!’. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General on 1 December 2024.