ARLINGTON, Va. — The former commander of the 180th Fighter Wing in Swanton has been nominated to become the 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday.
If confirmed by the Senate, Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus would be promoted to four-star general and serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Nordhaus was commander of the 180th from January 2011 to December 2013. He is currently serving as the commander of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. Before that, Nordhaus served as the special assistant to the director of the Air National Guard.
Nordhaus is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and served on active duty as an F-16 pilot, instructor and evaluator pilot before joining the Ohio National Guard in 1998.
According to the National Guard, the chief of the National Guard and National Guard Bureau "ensure proper manning, training and equipping of the Army and 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."
Roles as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff include serving as a military advisor to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council, and being the Department of Defense's official channel of communication to the governors and state
As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CNGB serves as a military advisor to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council, and is the Department of Defense’s official channel of communication to the governors and state adjutants general on matters of the National Guard.
