Governor Names New Nominee For Adjutant General

Governor Paul LePage has nominated Colonel Douglas Farnham as the new Adjutant General for the state of Maine, the supreme military officer of the state and Commissioner of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management.

Colonel Farnham has spent the past three years as the Wing Commander of the 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor, known as the 'MAINEiacs.' Doug is a graduate of Brewer High school (and my classmate!) and the United States Air Force Academy. He holds an MBA from Chapman University and has 31 years of military service.

Commissioned in 1984 as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, Farnham served as primary pilot for CINC U.S. Space Command, a C-21A pilot, and a flight examiner and ground school instructor for pilots. As a pilot of a KC-135E aerial refueling aircraft in the Air Guard, he was activated for Operation Noble Eagle, a mission to support homeland security in response to the September 11th attacks.

From 2005 to 2006, Colonel Farnham served as commander of the 132nd Air Refueling Squadron, and then moved on to serve as Operation Group Commander of the 101st Air Refueling Wing until 2012. It was then that he was promoted to Wing Commander of the 101st. Doug also serves as President and fourth-generation owner of Getchell Bros. Inc., a family-owned packaged ice company in business since 1888, and has been active in local civic organizations.

"The next Adjutant General will serve at an important time for Maine airmen and soldiers," Farnham said in response to the nomination. "Shrinking national resources are putting intense pressure on future Department of Defense budgets. As we've seen, the entire relationship between the active duty force structure and the reserve components is and will continue to be under debate. Our Adjutant General needs to be engaged at the national level to insure Maine is part of the discussion on emerging missions and force structure."

LePage nominated Farnham after the acting AG, Brigadier General Gerard F. Bolduc withdrew his name from consideration. He will continue to serve until the new Adjutant General is confirmed.

Congratulations, Doug!