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The National Guard Bureau today operates with two of its four senior positions filled by leaders in an “acting” capacity with less than the correct rank.
In fact, NGB has not had all four posts filled by Senate-confirmed officers of the appropriate rank in 16 months.
And when representing the Guard in the Pentagon, rank can be important.
The issue stems from the often-bureaucratic succession process for senor military positions, the change in administrations and the current political environment.
All four of the senior positions at the Guard Bureau (NGB chief, NGB vice chief, Army Guard director and Air Guard director) were filled to begin 2024 with leaders set to retire that summer.
President Joe Biden last year made nominations to fill only three of the positions, and the Senate confirmed just two: the NGB chief, Gen. Steve Nordhaus of Ohio, and the Army Guard director, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs of Arkansas.
Ten months into 2025, the remaining two posts still await action either by the Senate or the new administration.
As a result, the current NGB vice chief, a four-star position, is being filled by a two-star, Maj. Gen. Timothy L. Rieger of California, while the Air Guard director, a three-star position, is also now filled by a two-star, Maj. Gen. Duke A. Pirak of Oregon.
President Donald Trump in June nominated Lt. Gen. Thomas Carden, a Georgia Army Guard officer and the deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command, to be NGB vice chief.
The position was three stars until the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act elevated it to four stars.
Carden’s confirmation would mark the first time the Guard has had two four-star generals.
But Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., in July placed a hold on the nomination until the president demobilizes all the federalized California Guardsmen in Los Angeles.
A few hundred Guardsmen remain in California’s largest city from the approximately 4,000 mobilized under federal Title 10 in June against the objections of the mayor and governor to protect federal personnel enforcing immigration laws.
Padilla’s hold remains, and it only takes one senator to effectively halt a nomination.
“The hold is only hurting Guard readiness and national security,” said retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president.
Senators in both parties use the tactic, usually to leverage information or action from the executive branch of the federal government.
Meanwhile, the president has yet to nominate an Air Guard director.
Biden tapped Pirak for the post in March 2024, but the Senate never confirmed the nomination, which has expired.
The president makes nominations for senior military positions after considering one or more candidates developed by the Pentagon.
Senate confirmation involves vetting the candidate and a vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee, followed by consideration from the full Senate.
Confirmations for four-star positions — such as the NGB vice chief — requires a formal SASC hearing.
—By John Goheen
