OTTAWA — The U.S. Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, a 1985 graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf High School, to serve as the 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to a Facebook post from the high school.
Nordhaus will be the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on National Guard issues. He’ll be responsible for manning, training and equipping more than 430,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from the 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
With his confirmation, he’ll be promoted to general and formally assume responsibilities in a ceremony in October.
Nordhaus recently served as commander of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-First Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.
Nordhaus graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He served on active duty as an F-16 pilot and F-16 instructor and evaluator pilot before joining the Ohio National Guard in 1998. A command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours, his service includes combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq.