Story by: 2nd Lt. Alicia Lacy
CAMP MABRY, Texas - Two Texas Military Forces leaders stepped into new roles.
Brig. Gen. Brian C. Newby is returning back to his legal roots as the guard adviser to the U.S. Air Force deputy judge advocate general at the Pentagon, and Col. David M. McMinn will step into the position left vacant by Newby.
“I will be the No. 2 lawyer in the Air National Guard to support the No. 2 lawyer in the United States Air Force,” Newby said. “It’s a fantastic job and one that I’m looking forward to.”
The position is newly created within the ANG structure that will allow the Guard to build a relationship with its active duty counterparts.
In his role as the Texas Air National Guard chief of staff and deputy commander, Newby served as the principle adviser to the commander of the Texas Air National Guard for all Air National Guard issues, in addition to assisting in the planning, direction and administration of more than 3,100 Texas ANG Airmen. His responsibilities also included recruiting, retention, labor relations, training, employee development and equal opportunity initiatives.
“I’m going to miss being the deputy commander, but my relationships with both the Army Guard and Air Guard are very strong,” Newby said. “I’m a Texan at heart. I’m a Texas Guardsman.”
As Newby prepares to make his transition from Texas to Washington, D.C., this move is not new for him. Newby, a graduate of Texas Tech University and the University of Texas School of Law, has had two previous assignments in the nation’s capital, serving as the ANG assistant to the secretary of the Air Force inspector general and the ANG assistant to Headquarters U.S. Air Force Operations and International Law Division.
“We will dearly miss Brian’s leadership and judgment, but this position will bring even more benefit to the entire ANG,” said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Wisian, deputy adjutant general and commander of the Texas Air National Guard.
As McMinn begins to step into his position as the Texas ANG chief of staff and deputy commander, he will leave his current position as director of strategic planning with the TXMF.
McMinn, a Clemson University graduate, was formerly the commander of the 136th Airlift Wing, Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas.
“If anyone if ready to fill Gen. Newby’s shoes without missing a beat, it’s Dave,” Wisian said.
The formal handoff was April 1, 2014.