ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard bid farewell to its senior enlisted 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 Bureau Chief of the National Guard, during a change of responsibility ceremony on November 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 ushering in a new era of enlisted leadership at the NGB.

“Today we celebrate two men of extraordinary character who elevated the National Guard and all those who comprise it,” Nordhaus said at Conmy Hall, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. “We celebrate dedicated service members and principled leaders who, without exception, put people first. Every day, we strive to make the National Guard better than the day before, and our senior enlisted leaders play an important role in 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.

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

Nordhaus passed the SEA position colors to Raines, ceremonially designating him as the seventh senior enlisted advisor to the chief and the first chief in the Army to wear the distinctive SEA rank insignia.

Raines will represent more than 430,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen as their senior enlisted voice. He will serve as the principal military advisor to the CNGB on all matters relating to enlisted training, readiness, health and morale, as well as enlisted professional development.

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

Raines has more than 35 years of military service, beginning 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 specialist at 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. Well, after three years in the Army, I knew what I wanted to be, so the Army allowed me to reclassify to Infantryman, and I’ve held that MOS ever since.

After almost a decade of service, Raines looked at options outside of the military. “I started asking myself, ‘What do I want to do for the rest of my life?’ I wanted to mow my own lawn, take care of my own house and watch my kids play sports,” he said.

When he left active duty, he returned home. “My father was the fire chief of the Montgomery District of Alabama, which is both my wife’s district and my hometown.”

Raines was a firefighter until years later, on September 11, 2001, he felt a calling to serve again. “I was leaving my job with the Montgomery Fire Department when the first plane landed on the World Trade Center. I knew at that time it was time to come back and serve again.

He went to the 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 senior enlisted command leader of the Mississippi National Guard, the state command sergeant major of the National Guard of the Army of Mississippi and the Directorate of Joint Operations, J3, senior enlisted leader of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

As SEA, Raines explained that one of his responsibilities is to assess troop morale.

“My role as senior advisor is to serve as a sensor,” he said. “That means ensuring our policies are effective, ensuring our Soldiers and Airmen have the resources they need to accomplish their tasks and, ultimately, communicating the Guard’s story.”

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