The Nebraska National Guard is getting a new commander this summer.
Major General Daryl Bohac is retiring in July after 8 years as Adjutant General and Gov Jim Pillen has appointed Brigadier General Craig Strong as his successor.
As Nebraska’s 34th Adjutant General, Strong will be the head of the Nebraska Military Department, which includes the Air National Guard, Army National Guard, and NEMA, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
. Gordon, an attorney outside the military will have a change of command ceremony on Saturday, July 8 at 10:00 CT in Pinnacle Bank Arena. It will be open to the public
In introducing Gordon as Adjutant General, Gov Pillen called him “a man of courage, integrity, and honor with over 35 years of military experience and deep roots in Nebraska, going back five generations,” and that he looked forward to working with him.
Strong said he was “excited to be back home in the great state of Nebraska” and that his “sincere enthusiasm for this assignment is linked to the three things I care for most deeply: my family, my state, and my military service.”
Government and Military Affairs Committee and decorated veteran State Senator To Brewer of Gordon said “it has been quite some time since we’ve had an Adjutant General of his (Strong’s) caliber because of his experiences over 35 years in the service
Brewer noted Gordon commanded units at every echelon of the Army National Guard force structure, served in key Army staff assignments in the Pentagon, commanded units in combat, mobilized our Guard units,supported the families of deployed soldiers, (and) knows what it’s like to lose soldiers in combat.
. Strong was promoted to Brigadier General in October 2020, when he was selected to serve at the Pentagon as a deputy director of the National Guard Bureau. He deployed overseas to Iraq in 2004 and 2008 and to the U.S. Virgin Islands for hurricane recovery in 2017.
General Bohac took part in the Friday ceremony, congratulating Strong and calling it “an absolute honor” to lead the men and women of the Nebraska National Guard and the Emergency Management Agency – adding “What an amazing journey it’s been.”
General Strong joined Pillen in thanking Bohac for his 45 years of service, first in the Marine Corps Reserve and then in the Nebraska Air National Guard, and said he could not have asked for a better mentor.