SANTA FE, N.M. – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed a former U.S. Air Force commander and cabinet secretary to head the state’s Office of Military Base Planning and Support.

Gregory A. Myers is a Pennsylvania native who served as New Mexico Cabinet Secretary for Homeland Security and Emergency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Myers retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2012 as a Colonel after 25 years of military service. His flying assignments included duties as a B-52 instructor, electronic warfare officer, and B-1 instructor weapon systems officer. He accumulated over 2,400 flying hours and was awarded an Air Medal for flying operations in Desert Storm. Myers was also awarded three Bronze Stars for combat operations as a deployed commander in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

“It is an honor and privilege to serve New Mexico and its military communities and installations,” said Myers. “I look forward to supporting the Military Base Planning and Support Commission. My goal is to build strong relationships between the military bases and their surrounding communities and improve collaboration among state and federal agencies and key stakeholders.”

New Mexico has more than 11,000 active duty military and is home to the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range as well as Kirtland, Holloman and Cannon Air Force bases and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

The Office of Military Base Planning and Support works as a liaison between the state and the federal congressional delegation on military planning and support issues. It also works with base representatives and communities around military bases on access, infrastructure operations, planning and logistic concerns.

Myers is a former manager at Sandia National Laboratories and holds a Black Belt Certification in Lean Six Sigma. He has a master’s degree in Security Studies from the Naval Post-Graduate School, a master’s in Health Care Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Science in Education.

Myers assumed the new position on May 20. The office is administratively attached to the state Economic Development Department and he reports to Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes and Gov. Lujan Grisham.