Army Lt. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs took over Saturday as the acting head of the National Guard Bureau while it waits for the Senate to confirm a permanent leader, the Guard said in a press release Monday.
Stubbs, a prior-enlisted infantry officer who rose to become adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard in January 2023, was confirmed as the Army National Guard’s new boss on July 31. But in the absence of a lawmaker-approved four-star to lead the Guard as a whole, Stubbs must instead fill the most senior role.
Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson departed Aug. 2 after four years as NGB chief. President Joe Biden’s pick to replace him, Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate after a late nomination on July 23. Nordhaus currently leads the Air Force branch that oversees operations in North America, including missions to secure American airspace.
Read Next: Tim Walz, Who Spent Decades as an Enlisted Soldier, Brings Years of Work on Vets Issues to Dem Ticket
If confirmed, Nordhaus — a career fighter pilot who also served as the National Guard Bureau’s operations director before taking a senior Air Force role at North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD — would oversee more than 430,000 soldiers and airmen across the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.
The National Guard boss serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and acts as a conduit between the Guard’s 54 states and…
