October 15 , 2007
Dear Fellow Nebraskans:
After an extensive application and interview process, I recently had the privilege of introducing the head of the Nebraska National Guard to the citizens of our state. Col. Tim Kadavy will succeed Maj. Gen. Roger Lempke as Adjutant General of the Nebraska National Guard.
A native Nebraskan, he is currently serving as operations officer for the Army National Guard Directorate, headquartered at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va.
Beginning next month, he will lead the more than 4,500 Air and Army Guard personnel making up the Nebraska National Guard. In addition to commanding our state’s military forces, he also will work with emergency preparedness and disaster response personnel as director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
I selected Col. Kadavy because of his outstanding leadership abilities and his vast experience with the National Guard organization, both here at home and at the national level. I He is respected by his fellow soldiers and brings a straightforward, common sense approach to his job. In addition to all of these things, I was looking for a leader who had combat zone experience, just as so many of our Guard personnel have been called to do in recent years.
Kadavy began his military career in 1982 when he enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard. He became a commissioned officer in the Guard after college, serving with the 1-167th Cavalry. The squadron is the state of Nebraska’s largest combat arms group, with several units based in various parts of our state.
During the next 10 years, he held several leadership positions with the cavalry, ranging from a troop commander to managing operations and personnel for the entire squadron. In 1994, he switched from part-time status to become an active duty guardsman with the 5th Army at Fort Sam in Houston. He spent several years working with both the U.S. Army and National Guard Bureau before returning to Nebraska in 2001 to become commander of the 1-167th Cavalry Squadron, leading its peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Following the mobilization he completed a fellowship at the Army War College, working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, before returning to National Guard headquarters. Last April, he deployed to Camp Victory in Iraq to head up a division of reserve soldiers, returning in the fall.
I know he is excited to be returning home to serve once again with the men and women of the Nebraska National Guard. Gen. Lempke has been a truly outstanding leader and advocate for Nebraska during his seven years as Adjutant General, and I know that Col. Kadavy is committed to continuing to build a network of support service for our servicemen and women and their families that begun under Gen. Lempke.
In a time when more than 80 percent of Nebraska Guard personnel have served in combat, it’s extremely valuable to have a leader who both understands the pressures of an overseas deployment and has experience dealing with the challenges it presents.
He has said that taking care of soldiers and their families will be his top priority, and I know that his 25 years of experience in state and national military matters will be an asset in helping build on the programs already in place.
I have confidence in his abilities to lead the Guard and I look forward to
working with him.
