The Army National Guard will soon have a new director.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Kadavy, former adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, was confirmed Friday by the Senate, the National Guard Bureau announced.
Kadavy, who is currently the special assistant to the Guard Bureau vice chief, will succeed Maj. Gen. Judd Lyons.
Lyons has served as the acting director of the Army Guard since January 2014. He was appointed to the position following the retirement of Lt. Gen. William Ingram.
Kadavy will be the 20th director of the Army Guard.
As director, Kadavy will be responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all programs, policies and plans affecting the Army Guard and its more than 350,000 soldiers.
Prior to his current assignment, Kadavy served as commander of Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-Afghanistan, where he was responsible for coordinating and directing the efforts for counter/anti-corruption, counter-narcotics, counter threat financing, and the "No Contracting with the Enemy" program, according to the Guard Bureau.
Kadavy also has served as deputy director of the Army Guard, adjutant general of Nebraska and director of that state's emergency management agency.
Kadavy, who received his commission in 1984, has commanded at the troop, squadron and battalion task force levels, according to the Guard Bureau.
He has deployed to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Officials have not announced when Kadavy will be promoted to lieutenant general and assume responsibilities at the Army National Guard.
The National Guard Association of the United States, which advocates for the Guard, applauded Kadavy's confirmation.
"Maj. Gen. Judd Lyons has done a good job under trying circumstances over the last 14 months as the acting director of the Army National Guard, but today's challenges require a director who is allowed to develop and implement a vision for the force," said retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, the president of NGAUS, in a statement. "Maj. Gen. Kadavy … is the right leader with the right experience at the right time for the Army National Guard, and he will have the authority to move our force forward."
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
