Senate confirms new National Guard chief, other command leaders

Senate members late Tuesday confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau, filling the key leadership role after a nearly two-month vacancy.

Nordhaus’ promotion was accompanied by the confirmation of three other senior military posts: Navy Vice Adm. Alvin Holsey to be head of Southern Command; Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall Reed to be head of Transportation Command ; and Army Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson to be head of U.S. Forces Korea.

All four were approved without objection from any members. The men all received strong support during earlier confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee and are expected to be sworn into the new roles in coming days.

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Nordhaus, who will also be promoted to a four-star general, takes over the top Guard role from Gen. Daniel Hokanson, who retired in early August. Lt. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, director of the Army National Guard, has been serving as acting chief, since the vice chief post for the Guard is also unoccupied.

He currently serves as a top officer at North American Aerospace Defense Command.

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Nordhaus noted that nearly 42,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen are currently deployed around the globe, and balancing national security needs with the part-time nature of those troops’ military service will be a key responsibility for him in the new leadership post.

“We face persistent threats both in the homeland and abroad, and the next chief of the National Guard Bureau must work closely with the 54 states territories and the District of Columbia, as well as with the services, the joint force and our allies and partners,” he said.

[Our service members] must balance their military careers, their family careers, their civilian careers, so we can keep our promise as Americans to be always ready and always there.”

The Senate confirmation votes came just days before an expected six-week break for the chamber ahead of the November elections.