{"id":288421,"date":"2024-09-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=288421"},"modified":"2024-09-26T09:58:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T09:58:18","slug":"air-force-lt-gen-steven-nordhaus-confirmed-as-ngb-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=288421","title":{"rendered":"Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus Confirmed as NGB Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, commander of Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region \u2013 1st Air Force (U.S. Air Forces Northern and U.S. Air Forces Space) testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services at a confirmation hearing for his appointment as chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Hart Senate Office Building, District of Columbia, Sep. 12, 2024. If confirmed by the Senate, Nordhaus would be promoted to four-star general and serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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WASHINGTON \u2013 The Senate Tuesday confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus\u00a0as the 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus, who will also be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be promoted to four-star general and serve as the top officer in the nation\u2019s oldest military force.<\/p>\n

The Senate confirmation follows Nordhaus\u2019 Sept. 12 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come to you today at an important time in our nation\u2019s history with the rise of strategic competitors and a complex geopolitical environment with roughly 40,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen (currently) engaged globally,\u201d Nordhaus told the committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe face persistent threats both in the homeland and abroad, and the next chief of the National Guard Bureau must work closely with the 50 states, territories\u00a0and\u00a0District of Columbia, as well as the services, Joint Force, and our allies and partners to meet these challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus pledged to ensure National Guard units \u2014comprising about 430,000 Soldiers and Airmen \u2014 are manned, trained\u00a0and\u00a0equipped to continue to meet any mission, anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI firmly believe the National Guard is an elite and ready warfighting force, serving as the primary combat reserve of the Army and Air Force, providing robust capabilities, capacity\u00a0and\u00a0strategic and operational depth,\u201d Nordhaus said.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus most recently served as the commander of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region \u2013 First Air Force (Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space), Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Before that, he was the special assistant to the director of the Air National Guard.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0graduate of the\u00a0U.S. Air Force Academy, Nordhaus served on active duty as an F-16 pilot and F-16 instructor and evaluator pilot before joining the Ohio National Guard in 1998.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus\u2019 prior positions include the director of operations at National Guard Bureau J-3\/4\/7 from 2019 to 2022,\u00a0commander of\u00a0the Air National Guard Readiness Center from 2017 to 2019, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command deputy director of operations from 2015 to 2017.<\/p>\n

The chief of the National Guard Bureau serves as a military adviser to the president, the secretary of defense\u00a0and\u00a0the National Security Council.\u00a0The chief is the Defense Department\u2019s official\u00a0channel of communication\u00a0to\u00a0the governors\u00a0and\u00a0the adjutants general on National Guard matters.<\/p>\n

The CNGB\u00a0is responsible for ensuring the accessibility, capability\u00a0and\u00a0readiness of Guard members to secure the homeland and to provide combat resources to the Army and the Air Force.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus pointed to the 2022 National Defense Strategy\u2019s top priority of defending the homeland as just one area where National Guardsmen will continue to play a prominent role.<\/p>\n

He said people\u00a0will\u00a0remain\u00a0the most critical priority in his vision of the CNGB position and emphasized recruiting and retention is\u00a0an everyday focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to understand what (Guardsmen) need, what the requirements are\u00a0to make sure that they\u2019re organized, trained\u00a0and\u00a0equipped to be\u00a0able to do the mission,\u201d Nordhaus said, \u201cbut (that) they also have the appropriate pay and benefits to make sure that the National Guard is a\u00a0great place to work and then have that in longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another top NDS emphasis focuses\u00a0on alliances and partnerships as a national strength.<\/p>\n

During the hearing, several senators highlighted the National Guard\u2019s State Partnership Program, a\u00a0Department of Defense program that pairs the National Guard in the states, territories\u00a0and\u00a0the District of Columbia with foreign countries to build collective readiness and capabilities.<\/p>\n

In his testimony, Nordhaus repeatedly underscored the importance of the SPP \u2014 a 1993 initiative that began with 13 Eastern European countries and has since grown to encompass 106 partner nations on every continent but Antarctica.<\/p>\n

Seven nations joined the program this fiscal year, including the newest members of NATO: Finland and Sweden, paired with the Virginia and New York National Guard, respectively.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus told the committee that under his watch, the Guard would continue\u00a0to work\u00a0with the combatant commands and the State Department\u00a0in seeking\u00a0new nations with which to partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the State Partnership Program is critical to our success, making us stronger together and stronger tomorrow,\u201d Nordhaus said.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus also addressed the Guard\u2019s ongoing modernization efforts as a top priority for the CNGB and noted the growing global demand for fighter pilots and aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to work with Gen. (David) Allvin (the chief of staff of the Air Force) to\u00a0make sure that we get after the right fighter force structure across the Air Force and the Air National Guard,\u201d Nordhaus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf confirmed,\u201d Nordhaus added, \u201cI want to work with Gen. Allvin to make sure that we understand\u00a0what that right balance is between fourth-generation and fifth-gen (fighter aircraft) to make sure that we can be there not only for the combatant commands but also for\u00a0hdomeland\u00a0defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nordhaus succeeds Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the third CNGB to serve\u00a0a\u00a0full term as a four-star general and\u00a0member of the\u00a0Joint Chiefs of Staff.\u00a0The first to serve a full term was Army Gen. Frank Grass. The chief of the National Guard Bureau was elevated to a four-star position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2012, during the tenure of Grass\u2019 predecessor, Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus thanked Hokanson and his wife, Kelly, for their enduring impact on the National Guard. Hokanson retired this year after 39 years of service.<\/p>\n

The National Guard is a joint activity of the Department of Defense comprising the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard,\u00a0which are\u00a0the primary combat reserves of the Army and the Air Force. The Guard fights America\u2019s wars, secures the homeland\u00a0and\u00a0builds partnerships at home and\u00a0around the world.<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news: http:\/\/www.nationalguard.mil\/<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheNationalGuard\/<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard X: https:\/\/twitter.com\/usnationalguard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, commander of Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region \u2013 1st Air Force (U.S. Air Forces Northern and U.S. Air Forces Space) testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services at a confirmation hearing for his appointment as chief of the National Guard Bureau at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288423,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=288421"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288424,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288421\/revisions\/288424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/288423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=288421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=288421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=288421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}