National Guard in good hands with Ken Nava

Brig. Gen. Andy Salas, who headed the New Mexico National Guard from July 2012 until July 8, has left the Guard in good hands with Gov. Susana Martinez’s appointment of Brig. Gen. Ken Nava as adjutant general — the formal title of the person who leads the Guard’s more than 4,000 full- and part-time soldiers and airmen.

Nava, a Santa Fe native and University of New Mexico graduate who joined the Guard in 1988 as a mechanic, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1992 and has moved steadily through the ranks.

The 47-year-old has a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College and commanded the 515th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion while deployed to Iraq in 2009.

That academic and real-world training are vital, because as adjutant general, Nava’s role is highly diverse.

He’s the governor’s senior military adviser and the principal liaison to senior military officials, various state and federal officials, the state Legislature, local governments, and community groups.

He also oversees more than $96 million in state and federal funding.

As a reserve military force, National Guard members can be federally mobilized for active duty to supplement regular armed forces during times of war or national emergency and activated for service in their home state upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor.

New Mexico and the nation depend on the Guard to be there in times of need; Nava’s experience will help ensure that.

— Albuquerque Journal