A female Army doctor could be the next head of the New Jersey National Guard if state lawmakers approve the pick.
Gov. Phil Murphy this week nominated Col. Lisa Hou to serve as adjutant general and commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. She currently serves as the interim adjutant general. If confirmed, she would be the first Asian-American and female adjutant general in the state’s history.
“Col. Hou took the reins of the New Jersey National Guard and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs in the midst of this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic,” the Democratic governor said. “Since day one, she has demonstrated that she is the right person for the job, from overseeing deployment of our National Guard to our vaccination sites to taking immediate action to keep our veterans safe to sending National Guard members to our nation’s capital to defend our democracy.”
Col. Hou, who joined the New Jersey National Guard while a medical student, said she was grateful to be nominated for the top spot.
“With 25 years-plus wearing an Army uniform and nearly the same amount of time as a doctor, it feels like I have been training for this job for decades,” she said.
She served as an Army field surgeon in Iraq from 2005-2006 and in Afghanistan in 2011.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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