January 11, 2024

Governor Janet Mills today praised the Maine Senate?s overwhelming confirmation of retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Diane Dunn to lead the Maine National Guard and serve as Commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management. The Senate approved her nomination by a vote of 33?1.

?I thank the Maine Senate for their overwhelming and bipartisan vote to confirm General Dunn. She is uniquely and highly qualified to serve as Adjutant General and Commissioner, is deeply respected by the men and women of the department who have served with her, and is the right person to take on these immense responsibilities,? said Governor Mills. ?I look forward to officially swearing her into the job in the coming weeks.?

?I am deeply honored to earn the support of the Maine Senate and am grateful for the opportunity to lead the talented and dedicated men and women of the Maine National Guard and Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management,? said Brigadier General Diane Dunn, U.S. Army, Retired. ?I pledge to work hard every day, to lead with integrity, and to strive to fully discharge the responsibilities of the department to protect the lives, freedom, and property of Maine people.?

Governor Mills announced her nomination of General Dunn on December 15, 2023. General Dunn will be the first woman to lead Maine National Guard and serve as Commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management.

General Dunn is a former Assistant Adjutant General and Chief of Staff of the Maine Army National Guard with 33 years of distinguished military service who has held many leadership positions. Nationally respected for her deep experience in strategic and exercise planning, General Dunn deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2009, where she commanded the 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Her distinguished career also included national assignments as the Joint Regional Branch Chief of U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and as a deputy commanding general for U.S. Army North at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

She is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terrorism-Service Medal, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal, among several other distinguished decorations and badges.

She will replace Major General Douglas Farnham, who is retiring after nearly 40 years of decorated military service.

Maine National Guard staff are working to complete all National Guard Bureau and Department of the Army processes necessary to return Brigadier General (ret.) Dunn to full military status. Planning for an early February combined retirement for Major General Farnham and swearing-in ceremony of General Dunn by the Governor is underway. The Governor?s Office will issue a media advisory prior to that event.