Gov. Heineman Announces Election of Nebraska Guard Leader,
Maj. Gen. Lempke, as President of Adjutants General
(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman today announced the election of Maj. Gen. Roger Lempke, adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, as president of the Adjutants General Association of the United States (AGAUS). Maj. Gen. Lempke was elected during the group’s spring meeting in Omaha and is the first Nebraska National Guardsman to hold the post.
“I am honored for Nebraska that the nation’s adjutants general have recognized the sterling leadership General Lempke provides,” Gov. Heineman said. “I had several chances to see that leadership in action while I was our state’s Director of Homeland Security, and I hope that the people of our state – and our citizen-soldiers – understand the quality leadership they enjoy.”
AGAUS is made up of the senior leadership of the Army and Air National Guard of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The organization promotes and supports adequate state and national security, promotes the efficiency of the Army and Air National Guard and facilitates improvement in the administration of Guard affairs through state agencies and the Department of Defense.
Prior to his election, Maj. Gen. Lempke served as vice president of AGAUS. Maj. Gen. Lempke said he was honored that his fellow adjutants general had the confidence in him that he could lead the organization, especially in light of the critical issues facing the Guard.
He said, “This organization is the most accurate voice for communicating what is happening in the field, and it best represents the conditions in the states. It is an exciting time to lead AGAUS, with the National Guard facing Base Realignment and Closure, the Air Force transformation, which will have a profound effect on the Air National Guard, as well as Army restructuring and reconstitution for continued missions supporting the global war on terrorism, including homeland defense.”
During his two-year term in office, Maj. Gen. Lempke hopes to expand the association’s channels of communication to be more inclusive of the professional organizations that support AGAUS. Maj. Gen. Lempke, 58, a Tecumseh native, was appointed adjutant general of Nebraska in December 2000.
