Senior NORAD Air Force commander nominated to be next National Guard Bureau chief

WASHINGTON -- A top Air Force commander at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been nominated to be the next chief of the National Guard Bureau, just a bit more than a week before the current chief retires.

The nomination of Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus went to the Senate on Tuesday. If confirmed, he would be promoted to four-star general and become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He would replace Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, who is set to retire Aug. 2.

A fighter pilot, Nordhaus is the commander of the 1st Air Force and heads NORAD's continental U.S. region, which provides and controls airspace surveillance and activities for the nation. Before that, he was the special assistant to the director of the Air National Guard.

His nomination is one of several top Guard jobs that have been languishing for weeks and months. The top four officers of the National Guard Bureau have left or are set to retire in early August. To date, no nominations for their replacements have been confirmed by the Senate, leaving the bureau, the Air Guard and the Army Guard without permanent leadership as they head into a busy hurricane season and a potentially challenging election period.

In addition to Hokanson's impending departure, Lt. Gen. Marc Sasseville, who was the vice chief, has already retired. Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, who is chief of the Army Guard but has been serving as acting vice chief, will retire in early August. And Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, director of the Air Guard, has already retired.

The nomination of Air Force Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak to become the next Air Guard director was sent to the Senate in March. He has been serving as the acting director.

And Maj. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, currently the adjutant general in Arkansas, has been nominated to be the next director of the Army Guard, to replace Jensen.

No hearings or votes have been scheduled for either Stubbs or Pirak.

U.S. officials say that Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Jarrard is the likely nominee to become the next vice chief of the Guard Bureau. But his name hasn't been sent to the Senate. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel movements.

The lack of progress on the nominations has become a source of concern to the bureau, which oversees the training and oversight of the Guard forces who deploy on federal duty for overseas combat and to protect the homeland. The Guard chief is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and serves as a key link to the adjutant generals who command the state Guard units across the country and its territories.

Nordhaus graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado and served as an F-16 pilot and instructor while on active duty. He joined the Ohio National Guard in 1998 and commanded the 180th Fighter Wing there. He flew combat missions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 3,000 flight hours.