Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday the appointment of Brig. Gen. Warner A. Ross II as adjutant general of Tennessee and as commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Military, effective Jan. 21.
According to a release, Ross succeeds Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, who will retire after 43 years of military service. Holmes has served as Tennessee Department of Military commissioner since 2018 (read here).
Warner Ross
Courtesy of the State of Tennessee
Currently the assistant adjutant general, Army, for the Tennessee National Guard, Ross has 32 years of military service. He received his commission from officer candidate school after beginning his military career as an infantry rifleman at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1990.
Ross gained leadership experience while assigned to infantry, field artillery and cavalry branches across the Tennessee Army National Guard, with his most recent assignment having been as commander of the 194th Engineer Brigade.
Ross earned his Master in Strategic Studies degree at the Army War College, a Master of Education degree at Freed-Hardeman University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at the University of Mississippi.
“Gen. Holmes has dedicated his career to protecting our state and nation, and I commend his leadership of the brave men and women in the Tennessee National Guard,” Lee said in the release. “Gen. Ross brings decades of military defense experience to his respective role, and I appreciate his continued service to Tennessee.”
