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General Thomas Carden, Jr., a 1992 graduate of Georgia Southwestern State University, has made history as the first Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau to serve at the four-star rank. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2026, Gen. Carden now serves as the Bureau’s 12th vice chief, following the elevation of the position under the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
In this role, Gen. Carden serves alongside Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus—marking the first time two four-star generals have led the National Guard Bureau. As vice chief, he assists in advising the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior Army and Air Force leadership on National Guard matters, while helping oversee the training, manning, and equipping of more than 435,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen across 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
Gen. Carden most recently served as Deputy Commander of U.S. Northern Command, where he supported the combatant commander in preparing for and responding to threats against North America and overseeing the command’s mission to provide Defense Support of Civil Authorities.
Over the course of his career, Gen. Carden has held numerous senior leadership positions, including:
Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard
Vice Commander, U.S. Element, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
Deputy Commanding General, NATO Multinational Division Southeast (Romania)
Commander, 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Georgia Army National Guard
He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia and Herzegovina and has led numerous domestic response operations at the state and national levels.
A graduate of Georgia Southwestern State University with a Bachelor of Science in History, Gen. Carden also holds a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from Webster University and a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
An exemplary alumnus, he was inducted into the Georgia Southwestern Regents’ Hall of Fame and honored at the 2023 Board of Regents Scholarship and Awards Gala. He is also a recipient of the 2016 GSW Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Arts and Sciences and was named an “Amazing Cane” in 2020 for his leadership during the COVID-19 response, including overseeing the deployment of National Guard medical and infection control teams across Georgia. Gen. Carden has been featured twice in The Aeolian, the University’s annual alumni and friends magazine.
