Photo By Kimberly Burke | U.S. Air Force Col. Ashley E. Nowak assumes command of the Western Air Defense Sector...... read more read more
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- History was made at the Western Air Defense Sector when Col. Ashley E. Nowak became the first women to lead WADS as its new commander Nov. 6, 2024. During the change of command ceremony, Col. Travis Boltjes relinquished command to Nowak. Boltjes will become the Deputy Division Chief, Homeland Defense Division, Joint Staff (J5).
WADS traces its history back to 1948 when the 25th Air Division was established. The two-star general in command was responsible for the air defense activities in the Pacific Northwest. In 1990, due to the changing geopolitical landscape at the end of the Cold War the 25th Air Division assets were transferred to the Northwest Air Defense Sector which later became the Western Air Defense Sector in 1995. WADS completed a seamless transition from the active duty to the Air National Guard in 1997. This transition allowed for a more agile and cost-effective approach to air defense of the homeland. This is the first time in 76 years, that a female will lead the organization.
The presiding officer, Lt. Gen Luke Ahmann, Commander of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Region (CONR)-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern and Air Forces Space), emphasized that Nowak’s National Guard Bureau Joint Staff experience gives her a unique insight into the unique nature of the WADS mission. “Her deployed Joint Special Operations Command combat experience at Balad Air Base underscores her warrior ethos. She is an accomplished air battle manager, ready to improve on the Battle Control Center’s increased integration with leading technologies like CBC2 [cloud-based command and control] to further advance the lethality of our Operation Noble Eagle Mission.”
Ahmann explained that Nowak has the opportunity to further lead WADS’ re-optimization to meet the acute threat from Russia and the pacing threat from China. “I have all the confidence in the world in your leadership and ability to lead this great team and meet the challenges we know, and those yet uncovered.”
Nowak received her commission in 2005 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Arabic and Russian Languages. She has served as a Logistics Officer while on active duty with deployments to Iraq and United Arab Emirates. She joined the Air National Guard in 2014 where she has commanded at the squadron level twice, taught International Relations at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and completed Air Battle Management Training. Prior to assuming command of WADS, she served as a Strategic Planner serving the Chief’s Action Group, Office of the Chief, National Guard Bureau.
WADS is made up of members of the Washington Air National, Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Navy liaison officers, and Federal civilians. The unit supports the NORAD integrated warning and attack assessment missions and the USNORTHCOM homeland defense mission. WADS is responsible for air sovereignty and counter-air operations over the Western United States and directs a variety of assets to defend 2.2 million square miles of land and sea west of the Mississippi River in support of Operation Noble Eagle.
| Date Taken: | 11.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.13.2024 12:19 |
| Story ID: | 485178 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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