[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 117 (Thursday, July 18, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING THE MILITARY SERVICE OF GENERAL DANIEL R. HOKANSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ANNA PAULINA LUNA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2024

  Mrs. LUNA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor General Daniel R. 
Hokanson, the 29th Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
  General Hokanson was born on June 27th, 1963, in Happy Camp, 
California, where he graduated from Happy Camp High School and attended 
the College of the Siskiyous before being accepted to the United States 
Military Academy at West Point, New York.
  General Hokanson graduated from West Point with a bachelor of science 
degree in mechanical engineering and was commissioned as an officer in 
the United States Army on May 28, 1986. Upon his graduation, General 
Hokanson spent several years in the United States Army where he served 
as an aviator with the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California, 
including a deployment to Panama for Operation Just Cause from 1989 to 
1990. In 1990, he attended the Aviation Officer Advanced Course and AH-
64 Combat Aircraft Qualification Course where he became qualified as an 
Apache pilot. He subsequently served with the 1st Battalion, 229th 
Aviation Regiment, including command of Company B at Fort Bragg, North 
Carolina.
  In 1995, General Hokanson left the United States Army and joined the 
Oregon Army National Guard where he initially served as the Aide-de-
Camp for the Adjutant General, Oregon National Guard. Following this 
assignment, he served in the Oregon Army National Guard in numerous 
roles to include Deputy Director of Army Aviation, Commander of the 
641st Medical Battalion, and Commander of the 41st Infantry Brigade 
Combat Team.
  General Hokanson decided to leave the great northwest in 2010 and 
pursue a career at the national level by accepting a promotion to 
brigadier general and assuming the position of Deputy Director for 
Strategic Plans and Policy, North American Aerospace Defense Command 
and United States Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base, 
Colorado. In 2012, General Hokanson was given the opportunity to move 
further east and serve as the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy at 
the National Guard Bureau in Washington, DC, where he was subsequently 
promoted to Major General.
  After spending a few years away and gaining national-level 
experience, General Hokanson decided to move back home to Oregon in 
2013 when he was selected to serve as the Adjutant General of the 
Oregon National Guard. Without a doubt, this assignment accelerated his 
leadership trajectory and set him up for future assignments in the 
National Guard, including the Deputy Commander of the United States 
Northern Command, the 11th Vice Chief of the National Guard, the 21st 
Director of the Army National Guard, and eventually his current 
position as the 29th Chief of the National Guard, where he has served 
since August 2020.
  As Chief, General Hokanson led the National Guard through the COVID-
19 pandemic, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, multiple major disasters, 
the overseas deployment of tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers 
and Airmen, and the addition of 23 State Partnership Program nations. A 
tireless advocate for National Guard Soldiers, Airmen, and their 
families, General Hokanson and ``Team 29'' focused on ensuring the 
National Guard was fully integrated into the Joint Force. He championed 
the re-establishment of the Army National Guard's eight divisions and 
elevation of the Vice Chief of the National Guard to a four-star 
general. General Hokanson is married to his wife Kelly and all three of 
their children served in the military, following proudly in the 
footsteps of their father.
  Please join me in appreciation for General Hokanson who has 
selflessly supported and defended our freedoms both at home and abroad, 
while ensuring our National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have remained, 
``Always Ready, Always There.'' Thank you, General Hokanson. May God 
Bless you, your family, and the United States of America.

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