Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, Tennessee’s Adjutant General says that Brig. Gen. (Tenn.) Juan R. Santiago, from Memphis, is to become the new commander of the Tennessee State Guard.
For more than 30 years, Santiago has served in the military as a member of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Force Reserves, or the Tennessee State Guard. He is a veteran of Desert Storm and served as an Information Technology (Cyber) Officer for the Air Force. As a volunteer in the Tennessee State Guard, Santiago served in multiple leadership positions including Regimental Commander, Chief of Staff, and Deputy Commanding General for Operations. He is also the Executive Director of the State Guard Association of the United States.
Santiago is scheduled to assume command from Brig. Gen. (Tenn.) Craig Johnson of Manchester, who has been the commander of the State Guard since August 2016, in an official ceremony in February 2021. “Johnson has done a fantastic job for more than four-and-a-half years,” said Holmes. “It is a great loss to Tennessee, but his retirement is well deserved after spending more than 35 years in uniform.”
