Gov. Heineman Names Col. Judd Lyons to
Serve as Nebraska’s Next Adjutant General

(Lincoln, Neb.) Photo Gallery - Gov. Dave Heineman today announced Col. Judd Lyons of Omaha as his choice to take over for Maj. Gen. Tim Kadavy as Nebraska’s Adjutant General. He has served more than 29 years with the Nebraska National Guard and held numerous command and staff positions.

“Colonel Judd Lyons has demonstrated that he has the ability and the experience to be the next leader of the Nebraska National Guard,” Gov. Heineman said. “He understands the deployment challenges our Guard personnel face, and he cares about our military families. I know he will be an outstanding Adjutant General, and I look forward to working with him.”

Lyons will be promoted to brigadier general and receive command of the Nebraska National Guard from Kadavy during a ceremony scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 23. He will lead the more than 4,800 Air and Army personnel making up the Nebraska National Guard.

Col. Lyons said, “Governor Heineman, thank you for your trust and confidence and for this opportunity to lead the Nebraska National Guard and support our soldiers, airmen and state personnel. I will work to ensure our people and units are prepared to respond for our state and federal missions. I will also continue our efforts to ensure our families and employers have the support they need as their loved ones and employees serve Nebraska and our nation.”

Lyons, 47, recently became the director of the joint staff where he is responsible for budget, personnel management, training, and equipment for the Nebraska National Guard. He is also the commander of the 92nd Troop Command.

Lyons graduated from Missouri Military Academy and returned to Nebraska and enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard in 1980. He attended Officer Candidate School at Camp Ashland and was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant in 1983. His first assignment was serving as a battalion assistant operations officer with the 1-134th Infantry in Omaha. 

During the next eight years, he held several positions with the 1-134th Infantry and the 1-195th Armor, based in Wahoo, including platoon leader, company executive officer, communications and electronics officer and tank company commander.

In 1991, he became the operations and training officer with for the Guard’s Military Academy at Camp Ashland and later with 92nd Troop Command in Lincoln. He was the executive officer of the 1-167th Cavalry Squadron for more than three years, and returned to the Guard’s staff headquarters planning mobilizations and later spent nearly three years as the recruiting and retention manager. His next command assignment was serving as executive officer of the 92nd Troop Command.

In 2003, he returned to state headquarters, becoming commander of the Guard’s Training Site Command at Camp Ashland, Mead and Hastings, followed by an assignment as the Guard’s human resources officer, before being promoted to deputy chief of staff for operations with the Guard’s joint force headquarters where he coordinated the deployment of Nebraska Guard personnel to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006, he deployed to northern Afghanistan to serve as commander of the 209th Regional Security Assistance Command, which was responsible for training and equipping the Afghan National Army’s 209th Corps and national police forces in as part of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix.

Upon returning in 2007, he resumed his position with the Joint Force Headquarters, assuming command of the 92nd Troop Command last spring. He also led the state support element for the nearly 1,000 Nebraska Guard personnel deployed following Hurricane Gustav, which was the largest domestic mobilization in recent memory.

He has received numerous awards and decorations during his years of military service, including a Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal. He attended Creighton University and received a bachelor’s degree from Bellevue College in 1993 and a master’s in strategic studies from the Army War College in 2005. He is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College.

In addition to commanding the Nebraska’s military forces, Lyons will serve as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet and director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, working with the state’s civilian emergency preparedness and disaster response personnel.