Message from the Immediate Past President
By LTC Chris Kroeber, Immediate Past President
What a year we have had. I cannot believe it is already summer, our state conference was nearly 3 months ago, and time is flying.
As we look around at our organization as a whole, and at the total defense enterprise that we support, times are certainly changing rapidly. There are dramatic changes in our department, from combining major Army commands to form new organizations like the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command and the Transformation and Training Command to policy changes that are pushing us to modernize faster and become a leaner and more lethal total force, change is in the air. If we even glance at proposed budgets, we see the seriousness with which our national military and elected leaders approach modernization and transformation. These are challenging yet exciting times to be a Soldier or Airman (and I am sure the Guardians in our Space Force feel that as well, but really, they are not yet into their tween years so I’m going to ignore them in my comments – and we don’t yet have a Space Guard).
These are transformative years in military history, truly we haven’t seen this kind of change in many decades. Yet, times like this are the very thing that NGAUT and NGAUS are built for. As you read about the many issues that constitute the standing and new resolutions (https://www.ngaus.org/legislation/legislative-priorities) you see that your associations are looking to the future and have been for years. We have been bringing smart modernization to the forefront of our elected leaders’ tables consistently and all the while patiently waiting for them to catch the fever and fund the priorities we know make a difference to our ability to support the future war fight. Duty status reform, cyber structure and readiness, MILCON, equipment modernization are just a few of NGAUS’s standing priorities, brought to the attention of our elected leaders any and every time opportunity presents itself.
Your NGAUT board here in Utah also looks to the future and supports efforts to modernize and change advocating our associations’ priorities to our state leaders and adding the voices of our members to the power of our national delegation.
In March 2026, we were pleased to welcome Mr. Stephen M.R. Covey to our state conference as our keynote presenter, breaking slightly from our historic paradigms to bring a more robust and focused professional development session to our members. We see a future where this organization continues not only to provide quality professional development, but also gives members access to leadership guidance, collaboration among peers, and an environment to discuss the future with its challenges and opportunities. We are proud of the work we accomplished in 2025 and clearly recognize additional work to be done and fun to be had in 2026 and beyond.
This is your professional association. These times require a more evolutionary mindset, and my hope is that we use NGAUT as a tool to promote and advocate for the future of the National Guard. Join our ranks and be the change. We don’t want today’s Guard in the future; we want something different. You know what we can become, we just need to raise awareness, advocate passionately, and wait patiently for leaders to realize it.
I see a future where readiness is realized through excellent leaders that understand the dynamic and rapid changes facing the defense enterprise and leaders that can quickly adapt to reduce inefficiencies, promote innovation, and lead evolution that cuts drastically into our need to wait. The Captains and Majors of today are those that will lead future Soldiers and Airmen, be a part of building it the way you will need it to be. NGAUT is one powerful way you can get involved and advocate for change.
The National Conferences bring brilliant minds together (sometimes more effectively than others) but this year’s conference in Indiana is coming up and next year’s conference is close to home and during these days we will see evolution in practice.
Now, join our team as we have an opportunity to host 2027’s National Conference and Exhibition right here in Salt Lake City. Your board has been ramping up efforts to plan and prepare for the conference, but the time is coming quickly and we need all the volunteer help we can get; this is an opportunity not only for the Utah National Guard to shine, but for all of our Soldiers and Airmen to have access to some of our nation’s best and brightest strategic leaders.
Thank you for your membership, enjoy your summer, and do what you can to change the future.
Originally published in the NGAUT 2026 Summer Newsletter.
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