LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – An Arkansan with a 32-year military career has been appointed to a state cabinet position.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Monday that she had appointed Col. Olen Chad Bridges Secretary of the Military and Adjunct General of the Arkansas National Guard. He is the 55th person to hold the adjunct general title for the Arkansas Guard.
Bridges joined the Guard in 1991 and was commissioned in 1998, assuming command of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2021. His three prior assignments were in the Pentagon.
National Guard Professional Education Center in Camp Robinson celebrates 50 years
The Colonel has been a full-time Guard officer since 2006 and lives in Conway with his wife and two children.
Sanders expressed her confidence in the officer’s skills in making the appointment.
“Arkansas’ National Guard are the finest our state has to offer, and there’s no one better prepared to lead them than Colonel Chad Bridges,” the governor said. “Throughout his 32-year military career that includes leading Arkansas’ soldiers in three overseas deployments, Colonel Bridges has led troops in the Middle East, served several important assignments in the Pentagon, and been a loyal public servant to our state and nation.”