Cassandra Howard selected as Director of the Joint Staff for Tennessee National Guard
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, Tennessee’s Adjutant General, announced today that Brig. Gen. Cassandra Howard has been selected as the new Director of the Joint Staff for the Tennessee National Guard.
“Howard is a talented officer who has served our country well,” said Holmes. “She is a true professional with more than 34 years of extensive military experience and professional expertise. I know she is the right person to help lead our organization.”
In her new position, Howard will be responsible for assisting the Adjutant General by managing the Joint Staff of the Tennessee National Guard, which includes key staff from the Army and Air National Guard.
In her civilian career, Howard is the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital. In her most recent military assignment, she served as the Assistant for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in Washington, D.C. She was responsible for providing oversight in the development of policies, plans, and programs within the Department of Defense Military Health System.
Howard enlisted in the military in 1987 as an Aerospace Medical Technician for the 128th Medical Squadron with the Wisconsin Air National Guard and then received a direct commission in 1996 as a Health Services Administrator. In 2000, she transferred to the Tennessee Air National Guard as the General Medical Officer for the Memphis based 164th Medical Group.
Over her career, Howard served in multiple leadership positions to include Flight Surgeon, Chief of Aerospace Medicine, Commander of the 164th Medical Group, and State Air Surgeon for the Tennessee Air National Guard.
Howard currently resides in Collierville.
Command photograph of Brig. Gen. Cassandra Howard. (photo by Tennessee National Guard)