Dan Hokanson

General (ret) Dan Hokanson brings deep expertise and experience in leading complex organizations, international relations, national security and crisis management. His experience and life-long commitment to continuous learning over three decades of military service resulted in Dan achieving the rank of 4-Star General and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dan served as the 29th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, the highest-ranking officer in the National Guard, an organization of over 430,000 in all fifty states, three territories, and DC. As Chief, he oversaw the Guard’s historic response to the COVID pandemic, civil-disturbances, and numerous major disasters, while simultaneously meeting every global military operations requirement asked of the organization. He also led the National Guard and Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, with over one-hundred member countries. In this role, he regularly conducted senior government and military leader engagements at home and abroad, including hosting senior world leaders from ninety-three nations in Washington, DC for the program’s thirtieth anniversary.

Prior to serving as Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Dan served as Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Director of the Army National Guard, Deputy Commander of U.S. Northern Command, and the 30th Adjutant General of Oregon. As Vice Chief, he was a member of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and Deputies Management Advisory Group, advising on high interest acquisitions and assessing joint capabilities for the nation’s military services. As Director of the Army Guard, he planned, developed, and implemented re-establishment of the Division force structure, the largest combat formation in the Army, to improve readiness and talent management, and better support the US National Defense Strategy. As The Adjutant General of Oregon, he developed and implemented the Nation’s first Disaster Playbook for the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake threat, designed to synchronize response efforts across the region while defining the mission critical roles and responsibilities of all State agencies.

A Master Army Aviator, he has flown over 2600 hours in more than thirty different aircraft and was a member of Team USA at the 1996 World Helicopter Championships. He founded the nation’s first Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic and Military Air Rescue Team (MAST/MART) program and has aircraft flight test, firefighting, combat, and rescue experience; and was featured on the TV series “Expeditions to the Edge”.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, he later earned master’s degrees in international security and civil-military relations from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, as well as a masters in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He was also selected for the Department of Defense’s year-long National Security Fellowship at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

General (ret) Hokanson is an avid athlete and outdoorsman born and raised in Happy Camp, California. He and his wife Kelly have three adult children all serving in the military, and four grandchildren.