ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard bid farewell to its top leader, Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony Whitehead, after 42 years of military service and welcomed SEA John T. Raines III as the new senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau. during the change of responsibility ceremony on Nov. 8.

Air Force Gen. Steven Nordhaus, who recently became the 30th chief of the National Guard Bureau, presided over ceremonies celebrating Whitehead’s career and ushered in a new era of NGB enlisted leadership.

“Today we celebrate two men of extraordinary character who lifted up the National Guard and everyone in it,” Nordhaus said at Joint Base Conmy Hall, Myer-Henderson Hall. “We celebrate the dedicated service members and principled leaders who, without exception, put people first. “We work every day to make the National Guard better than the day before, and our veteran enlisted leaders are a huge part of our success.”

Whitehead reflected on his four decades of service and thanked the Guard for giving him the opportunity and training to become something greater than himself.

“Being a member of the National Guard wasn’t part of my career path, nor was being an airman,” Whitehead said. “It’s interesting how we make seemingly short-term decisions like joining the military, but once we get there we realize the possibilities are endless. And here I am today.”

Nordhaus passed the SEA positional colors to Raines, ceremonially marking him as the seventh senior enlisted advisor to the chief and the first Army leader to wear SEA’s distinctive rank insignia.

Raines will represent more than 430,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen as the senior voice. He will serve as the CNGB’s chief military advisor on all enlisted matters affecting training, readiness, health and morale, and enlisted professional development.

“Today is also a day of new beginnings as John Raines assumes responsibility as senior advisor,” Nordhaus said. “For decades, John was a warrior, veteran enlisted leader, husband, father, teammate and friend, and set an honorable example by living his core values ​​every day.”

Raines has more than 35 years of military service, starting with nine years of active duty as an Army communications specialist (31N) and infantryman (11B) before transitioning to the Army National Guard.

“I was a communications officer in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, but I always wanted to be an infantryman,” Raines said. “Like many people who join the military, I didn’t know my options. After three years of military service, I knew what I wanted to be, so the Army allowed me to transfer to infantry, and I’ve held that MOS ever since.

After nearly a decade of service, Raines looked at options outside the military. “’What do I want to do with the rest of my life?’ I started to wonder. “I wanted to cut my own lawn, maintain my own house and see my children play sports,” he said.

He returned home when he left active duty. “My father was the district fire chief in Montgomery, Alabama, which is both my wife’s hometown.”

Raines was a firefighter until years later on September 11, 2001, when he felt the urge to serve again. “I was getting off work from the Montgomery Fire Department when the first plane flew into the World Trade Center. “I knew then that it was time to return and serve again.”

He went to Alabama National Guard headquarters and never looked back.

Raines has served as the 13th sergeant major of the Army National Guard since 2022. Prior to that, he was the state command sergeant major of the Mississippi National Guard, Mississippi Army National Guard, and the command senior enlisted leader of the J3 Joint Operations Directorate. Senior enlisted leader of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Raines explained that one of his responsibilities as SEA was to gauge troop morale.

“My role as senior registered advisor is to serve as a sensor,” he said. “This means ensuring our policies are effective, our Soldiers and Airmen have the resources necessary to accomplish their missions, and ultimately communicate the Guard story.”

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