Brigadier General Stewart Rodheaver is pinned to his new rank by representatives of the Georgia National Guard’s enlisted corps. On the left is Cmd. Sgt. Maj. James Nelson, the senior enlisted member of the 48th Brigade and on the right is Cmd. Sgt. Maj. Mark Bender, command sergeant major of the Georgia National Guard’s Troop Command.

Stewart Rodeheaver became the Georgia National Guard’s newest general officer Saturday, March 27, when he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Rodeheaver commands the Georgia Guard’s 48^th Infantry Brigade, which is made up of more than 4,000 National Guard soldiers drilling in 28 hometown armories across the state.

"Stewart is the right man at the right time for the leadership of the 48th Infantry Brigade," said Major General Terry Nesbitt, Commander of the Georgia Army National Guard. "During his command tenure, this brigade will undergo a change that is unparalleled in its history as it changes its structure to a modular brigade combat team that will deploy very rapidly and plug-into any situation throughout the world.

"It will be a significant change and I can’t think of anybody I would rather have than Stewart to lead the 48th Brigade through that change," added Nesbitt.

Rodeheaver, a 29-year veteran of the Georgia National Guard, assumed command of the 48th Infantry Brigade in February.

In a unique twist, Rodeheaver elected to be pinned to his new rank by representatives from the Georgia National Guard’s enlisted corps, including Command Sergeant Major James Nelson, the senior enlisted member of the 48th Brigade and Command Sergeant Major Mark Bender, command sergeant major of the Georgia National Guard’s Troop Command.

"I asked Sergeant Major Bender to pin the star on my left collar to remind me of the state team that I support and the NCO’s throughout the state that I work for," the new General explained. "Sergeant Major Nelson pinned my right collar to remind the 48th Brigade NCO’s and the leadership of the NCO corps and what they do for us every day."

Rodeheaver also invited Sergeant James Smith, the Georgia National Guard’s Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year, to pin the star on his beret to honor the enlisted members of the Georgia National Guard.

"I promise the three of you that I will not forget those commitments I’ve made to the enlisted corps," he added.

In civilian life, General Rodeheaver is employed by the Southern Company as manager of Economic Development, and he took time during the ceremony to thank his employer and his coworkers who attended. "These are my bosses, my mentors, my coaches, but most of all they are my friends and I appreciated them coming today," he said.

"Many times we hear the expression that someone is ‘a soldier’s soldier,’" Major General David B. Poythress, Georgia ’s Adjutant General told the crowd assembled for the ceremony. "But I have never heard it said more consistently about anybody than about Stewart Rodeheaver."

Throughout his long career with the Georgia Army National Guard, Rodeheaver has served in a number of key leadership positions. He enlisted in the National Guard in October 1971 and was commissioned at the Georgia Military Institute in Milledgeville in 1974 as an Honor Graduate. He has served in command positions with the 148^th Forward Support Battalion in Forsyth; 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry in Albany ; and Headquarters Company 48^th Brigade in Macon .

In 1993, he was selected as battalion commander of the 108^th Armor Battalion where he served a three-year tour that included a rotation to the National Training Center in California , and an assignment as the senior observer controller for Operation Bright Star in Egypt .

He also was deputy director, Joint Operations, Georgia Department of Defense, and later served in command positions with the 78^th Troop Command and as commander, Regional Training Institute in Macon.