Gen. Steven Nordhaus assumed responsibility as chief of the National Guard Bureau during a ceremony Oct. 15 at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Navy Adm. Christopher Grady, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presided over the ceremony following an earlier promotion ceremony in which Nordhaus received his fourth star.
"To the Citizen-Soldiers, the 430,000 men and women of the National Guard, thank you for manning the watch as we sit here today. Thank you for being Always Ready, Always There," Grady said.
Nordhaus takes the helm as the National Guard's top officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, who retired in August.
"I'd like to thank the men and women of the National Guard - an elite and ready warfighting force," Nordhaus said. "They are well-integrated with the Joint Force, our allies and partners, the interagency and local communities.
"They are critical to our national defense, and I am proud to represent them," he 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 and Air Forces Space) at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
He brings experience working at the National Guard Bureau in and around the Pentagon, having served as the NGB's director of operations from 2019 to 2022 and commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, from 2017 to 2019. He was an executive assistant to Army Gen. Frank Grass, the 27th chief of the National Guard Bureau, from 2013 to 2015.
Nordhaus has served at every level of Air Force command and is rated as a command pilot, with more than 3,000 flight hours in various aircraft, including T-37, T-38, F-16A, F-16C/D Block 30/40/42/50/52 and F-35A. He has flown combat missions in operations Southern Watch, Vigilant Warrior, Northern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Nordhaus was inspired to fly fighter jets at a young age and earned his commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989.
"Over the course of my service flying in the active duty and the National Guard, my experiences took me far beyond the cockpit when General Grass brought me to the Pentagon," Nordhaus said.
"There, I learned just how dynamic, versatile, resilient and responsive our National Guard is as a warfighting force, with strategic depth and as an operational reserve for our services, yet able to respond across our nation from over 2,500 communities to serve our citizens," he said.
As Nordhaus takes the office of the chief of the National Guard Bureau, there are about 46,000 Guardsmen on duty. More than 7,400 Guardsmen from 17 states are mobilized to the southeast to help communities devastated by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Another 9,000 are focused on steady-state homeland defense and security. More than 21,000 are deployed worldwide in support of geographic combatant commands.
Thousands more stand ready to answer the call at home and abroad.
Nordhaus shared his first personal encounter with the National Guard. It came in 1992 when, as a young officer in the active-duty Air Force, Hurricane Andrew destroyed his first home and two cars at Homestead Air Force Base in South Florida.
"The National Guard was there for me," he said. "Just as right now, our Guardsmen are working tirelessly to respond to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. They are saving families in devastated communities. They are clearing roads and establishing distribution sites so our fellow Americans can regain access to life-saving food and water.
"They are not only bringing supplies and expertise to these communities - they are bringing hope and compassion to our neighbors in need," he said.
That hope is part of Nordhaus' philosophy - three tenets he calls his standard operating procedures: service, optimism and passion.
"I am committed to bringing service, optimism and passion to each day as I serve alongside you in my new role," he said.
Nordhaus said he will be focused on people, readiness, partnerships and modernization to ensure the National Guard remains well-postured in a time of Great Power Competition globally and responsive in times of crisis at home.
"Everything I do in this role will be in the service of our people so we can ensure mission success," he said. "Every policy we improve, every nation and community we visit and every decision we make will put our elite Soldiers, Airmen and civilians front and center.
"You bring strength, courage and honor to this organization; without you, we cannot succeed," he said.
The chief of the National Guard and the National Guard Bureau ensure proper training, equipping and staffing of the Army and the Air National Guard so they can perform their missions as the primary combat reserve of the Army and the Air Force to fight and win the nation's wars, protect the homeland and assist communities in times of natural or human-caused disaster.
Nordhaus is the fifth chief of the National Guard Bureau to serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which Congress elevated to a four-star position in 2012.
