Governor John Hickenlooper has appointed U.S. Air Force Major General Michael A. Loh as Colorado’s new Adjutant General. Loh replaces Adjutant General U.S. Air Force Major General H. Michael Edwards who is retiring. In this capacity, Loh also serves as the Executive Director of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Loh is currently assigned as the National Guard Assistant to the Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. He serves as senior National Guard officer to the commander and his staff in organizing, training, equipping, and maintaining Air Combat Command assigned Air National Guard Forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime defense.

“Colorado is fortunate to have an officer like Major General Loh whose distinguished service speaks to the kind of leader he will be as Adjutant General,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper. “He will ensure that Coloradans and the nation are protected both at home and abroad. Major General Loh brings the kind of experience that makes all of Colorado proud.”

As Executive Director of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, he will provide guidance, support, and coordination to the divisions of the Colorado National Guard, Civil Air Patrol and Veterans Affairs.  DMVA works to support the National Guard to mobilize for overseas contingency operations, coordinates National Guard disaster response in Colorado and the region, and provides services to our veterans to receive the federal benefits they have earned.

“I’m honored to receive the Governor’s appointment,” said Loh. “I am committed to ensuring that our Colorado National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are ready for our federal and state missions, to continuing to support our families whose loved ones are deployed, and to serving and honoring the 400,000 veterans who call Colorado home.”

Loh is a 1984 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.  He served seven years on active duty as an F-16A/C flight lead and strike pilot with U.S. Air Forces in Europe and as an Instructor Pilot in the F-16C at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.   He joined the Colorado Air National Guard in 1991 and has held command, staff, and supervisory positions including Colorado Air National Guard Assistant Adjutant General, Air National Guard Council Chairman, Group Commander, and Squadron Commander.  He deployed multiple times to both the Pacific and Central Command regions and commanded combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also previously served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, and as Guard Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Loh is a command pilot with more than 3,200 flight hours including 2,900 hours and 128 combat flight hours in F-16A/B/C/D fighters.

Loh’s appointment is effective April 10, 2017.

Photo Major General Michael A. Loh, courtesy US Air Force.