Gent Welsh

Brig. Gen. Gent Welsh is Commander, Washington Air National Guard, at Camp Murray, Wash. He is responsible for the mission readiness and operational effectiveness of more than 2,100 military and civilian personnel assigned to the 141st Air Refueling Wing in Spokane, Wash., the 194th Wing at Camp Murray, the Western Air Defense Sector Headquarter located at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), Wash., and Headquarters, Washington Air National Guard, also at Camp Murray.

General Welsh began his military career by enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1988. He transferred to the Air National Guard in 1992 and was later commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1994. He has held a variety of positions in air support operations and combat communications units, including command positions at the squadron, group, and wing levels. He is an in-residence graduate of the Air War College, at Maxwell AFB, and commanded the 242nd Combat Communications Squadron, and the 252nd Combat Communications Group, and served as the Chief Information Officer, J6 and Chief of Staff for the Washington National Guard. Prior to his current position, General Welsh served as the 194th Wing Commander.

General Welsh has deployed on multiple occasions with the Washington Air National Guard in support of, operations Desert Shield, Southern Watch, Joint Forge and Iraqi Freedom. He first served as the Plans and Implementations Flight Commander for the 363rd Expeditionary Communications Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia from October 1999 to December 1999. He later served as the Contingency Plans Officer, HQ USAFE/A6 at Ramstein AB, Germany from January 2001 to February 2001. General Welsh also served as the Chief of Network Systems and Contingency Communications, HQ – at Headquarters NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR), Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from October 2003 to March 2004 from 2003 to 2004. During his latest deployment, he served as the Commander of the, 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, at Kirkuk Regional Air Base/Forward Operating Base Warrior, Iraq, from May 2007 to September 2007.