A trio of Air Force lieutenant generals are in line to gain a fourth star, as the Pentagon announced their nominations for top roles at the National Guard Bureau, U.S. Transportation Command, and Air Mobility Command.
Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus has been tapped to lead the National Guard and become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson. If confirmed, Nordhaus would continue a 30-year tradition of the Air Force and Army trading off the top spot on the NGB.
Nordhaus is currently the commander of the 1st Air Force, or Air Forces Northern, and the head of the Continental U.S. Command Region for NORAD. An F-16 pilot by trade, Nordhaus is a member of the Air National Guard and has commanded a Guard squadron, detachment, and wing, as well as time as commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center. He also had stints as executive assistant and director of operations at the National Guard Bureau.
Air Forces Northern has members from the active duty Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard, but most of its aircraft come from Guard wings. The Pentagon also said President Joe Biden is nominating Maj. Gen. Michael L. Ahmann to succeed Nordhaus. Ahmann, also a Guardsman, is currently the director of programs and requirements at the Guard Bureau.
If confirmed, Nordhaus would be responsible for advocating for more than 430,000 Guardsmen and guiding the Guard as it faces ever-growing demand for its services.
Lt. Gen. Randall Reed, deputy commander of Air Mobility Command, has been nominated to take the lead of U.S. Transportation Command, succeeding Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost.
Reed, a former KC-135 instructor pilot, has commanded at the squadron, group, wing, and Numbered Air Force level. He has more than 3,500 flight hours in the C-141B, KC-135R/T, B-1B, RC-135V/W, E-8C, C-130, C-5A, C-5M, and C-21. He arrived at AMC in May 2022.
If confirmed, Reed would keep the number of Airmen in charge of combatant commands at four, tied with the Army and ahead of the Marine Corps and Space Force.
TRANSCOM is in the early stages of implementing a new Global Household Goods contract for moving troops’ belongings around the world. The command will also face pressure to prepare for the complex logistics that would define any conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
At AMC, Reed and commander Gen. Mike Minihan emphasized the importance of mobility forces in great power competition with the likes of China, executing more maximum endurance operations and conducting a massive “Mobility Guardian” exercise in the Pacific in 2023.
Now, AMC is poised to get entirely new leadership. Lt. Gen. John D. Lamontagne has been nominated for a fourth star and to take over as commander of AMC.
Lamontagne is currently the deputy commander of both U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. Both a C-17 and KC-135 pilot, Lamontagne has a deep history with AMC and Scott Air Force Base, Ill. In the 1990s, he worked there at the Tanker Airlift Control Center and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, and in the 2010s, he served as deputy director of operations for AMC and commander of the 618th Air Operations Center, the nerve center of AMC.
Having commanded at the squadron, group, and wing level, Lamontagne also had joint stints as the deputy director for the J-5 and as chief of staff for U.S. European Command.
At AMC, he’ll be succeeding a larger-than-life presence in Minihan, while likely trying to continue his work in boosting connectivity across the entire mobility fleet.
His new deputy will likely be Maj. Gen. Rebecca J. Sonkiss, who has been nominated for the job and a third star. Sonkiss is currently deputy at another component command, Air Force Special Operations Command.
Also nominated July 24 were:
- Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael L. Downs to be lieutenant general and associate director for military affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency. Downs is currently the vice director for the Joint Staff.
- Air Force Maj. Gen. Evan L. Pettus to be lieutenant general and military deputy commander at U.S. Southern Command. Pettus is currently the commander of the Twelfth Air Force, or Air Forces Southern.
- Space Force Brig. Gen. Devin R. Pepper to become major general. Pepper will stay in his job as deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and policy at Supreme Allied Command Transformation, NATO.