New Command Chief Warrant Officer for Utah Army National Guard

                                                          Press Release 24-009, Feb. 28, 2024

Contact:  Lt. Col. Chris Kroeber (801) 716-9063

For Immediate Release

New Command Chief Warrant Officer for Utah Army National Guard

DRAPER, Utah —The Utah Army National Guard will welcome its eighth command chief warrant officer during a change-of-responsibility ceremony scheduled to occur at 11 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 29, in the Draper headquarters’ auditorium.

During the ceremony, Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 William Erickson will relinquish the role of Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Utah Army National Guard to Command Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jeffrey Issa.

Issa, a current Eagle Mountain resident originating from Richfield, has served in the Utah Army National Guard for more than 37 years, most recently as the operations officer for the Utah National Guard’s 640th Regiment Regional Training Institute. Prior to this assignment, Issa served in the 65th Field Artillery Brigade as the operations and training officer, plans and exercises officer, and the mobilization officer for the Joint Force Headquarters operations directorate. He has served in numerous positions of leadership at all levels of command.

Issa joined Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery, as a cannon crewmember in June 1986, and distinguished himself as a non-commissioned officer in many positions to include howitzer section chief, platoon sergeant, and first sergeant until he was appointed as a warrant officer in 2004. He deployed several times in support of various missions including Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005, and Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve to Kuwait, Syria, and Iraq, in 2018.

"The world around us is changing more rapidly than ever before; technologically, politically, and militarily,” said Issa. “As the technical and tactical experts of our chosen branches, the Warrant Officers of the Utah National Guard and the United States Army will be at the forefront of the changes we face, it will be a privilege to be a leader of the team as we grow, learn, and adapt. I am truly humbled to selected for this position."

Chief Warrant Officer 5 William Erickson, a Pleasant Grove resident, was appointed as the Utah Army National Guard’s seventh Command Chief Warrant Officer in December 2022, where he currently serves.

Erickson joined Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 140th Field Artillery, “Animals,” as a cannon crewmember in March 1986, and has been an active member of the Utah National Guard since. He deployed in support of Operation Noble Eagle in 2002 to Tooele, Utah; in support of Hurricane Rita relief in Louisiana in 2005; and for Operation Enduring Freedom to Herat, Afghanistan in 2013.

“I am honored and humbled to have served as the Command Chief Warrant Officer for the Utah Army National Guard. It has been a rewarding opportunity,” said Erickson. “I’m grateful for all the support I received from the highly skilled Soldiers and leaders that manage, operate, troubleshoot, train, and maintain the Army’s complex systems. It has truly been an honor to serve, and I am excited to see what they will do in the future as they face new and evolving challenges. I am confident they will rise to any challenge.”

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Media Notes: Media desiring to attend should arrive no later than 10:40 a.m. The address of the Utah National Guard is 12953 South Minuteman Drive in Draper. Media parking is available to the west of the main entrance or along Minuteman Drive. Pictures of Chief Erickson and Chief Issa have been attached for reference.  Please contact Lt. Col. Chris Kroeber at ng.utngpao@army.mil with any questions.