Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus Confirmed as NGB Chief

WASHINGTON - The Senate Tuesday confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus as the 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau.

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's oldest military force.

The Senate confirmation follows Nordhaus' Sept. 12 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

"I come to you today at an important time in our nation's history with the rise of strategic competitors and a complex geopolitical environment with roughly 40,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen (currently) engaged globally," Nordhaus told the committee.

"We 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 and District of Columbia, as well as the services, Joint Force, and our allies and partners to meet these challenges," he said.

Nordhaus pledged to ensure National Guard units -comprising about 430,000 Soldiers and Airmen - are manned, trained and equipped to continue to meet any mission, anywhere.

"I 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 and strategic and operational depth," Nordhaus said.

Nordhaus most recently served as the commander of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region - 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.

A graduate of the U.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.

Nordhaus' prior positions include the director of operations at National Guard Bureau J-3/4/7 from 2019 to 2022, commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center from 2017 to 2019, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command deputy director of operations from 2015 to 2017.

The chief of the National Guard Bureau serves as a military adviser to the president, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council. The chief is the Defense Department's official channel of communication to the governors and the adjutants general on National Guard matters.

The CNGB is responsible for ensuring the accessibility, capability and readiness of Guard members to secure the homeland and to provide combat resources to the Army and the Air Force.

Nordhaus pointed to the 2022 National Defense Strategy's top priority of defending the homeland as just one area where National Guardsmen will continue to play a prominent role.

He said people will remain the most critical priority in his vision of the CNGB position and emphasized recruiting and retention is an everyday focus.

"We have to understand what (Guardsmen) need, what the requirements are to make sure that they're organized, trained and equipped to be able to do the mission," Nordhaus said, "but (that) they also have the appropriate pay and benefits to make sure that the National Guard is a great place to work and then have that in longevity."

Another top NDS emphasis focuses on alliances and partnerships as a national strength.

During the hearing, several senators highlighted the National Guard's State Partnership Program, a Department of Defense program that pairs the National Guard in the states, territories and the District of Columbia with foreign countries to build collective readiness and capabilities.

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

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.

Nordhaus told the committee that under his watch, the Guard would continue to work with the combatant commands and the State Department in seeking new nations with which to partner.

"I believe the State Partnership Program is critical to our success, making us stronger together and stronger tomorrow," Nordhaus said.

Nordhaus also addressed the Guard's ongoing modernization efforts as a top priority for the CNGB and noted the growing global demand for fighter pilots and aircraft.

"I want to work with Gen. (David) Allvin (the chief of staff of the Air Force) to make sure that we get after the right fighter force structure across the Air Force and the Air National Guard," Nordhaus said.

"If confirmed," Nordhaus added, "I want to work with Gen. Allvin to make sure that we understand what 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 hdomeland defense."

Nordhaus succeeds Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the third CNGB to serve a full term as a four-star general and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The 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' predecessor, Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley.

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

The National Guard is a joint activity of the Department of Defense comprising the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, which are the primary combat reserves of the Army and the Air Force. The Guard fights America's wars, secures the homeland and builds partnerships at home and around the world.

For more National Guard news: http://www.nationalguard.mil/

National Guard Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNationalGuard/

National Guard X: https://twitter.com/usnationalguard

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.