ARLINGTON, Va. - Brig. Gen. James Nuttall has reported for duty as the new deputy director of the Army National Guard.
This assignment brings him back to the National Guard Bureau where he served as chief of staff for the Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Va., from March 2003 to November 2004.
Nuttall will assist the director of the Army National Guard in formulating, developing, and coordinating all programs, policies, and plans that affect the Army National Guard.
He replaces Brig. Gen. Frank Grass who has become the director for Mobilization and Reserve Component Affairs for United States European Command in Germany.
Nuttall most recently served as deputy director of Operations, Readiness and Mobilization in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, Washington. He had held that position since November 2004.
Nuttall brings more than 30 years of military experience to his new job. He was commissioned in 1975 as a field artillery officer in Rhode Island, his home state.
He has held assignments from section leader to brigade commander with the Rhode Island Army Guard.
Leadership positions held by Nuttall include deputy assistant commandant for the U.S. Army Field Artillery School in Ft Sill, Okla., and chief of staff for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command in Ft Monroe, Va.
Nuttall was also a Division I baseball umpire for the Eastern College Athletic Conference before the terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. He hopes to umpire again after his responsibilities with the Army Guard come to an end, said Nuttall who sees many similarities in being an Army officer and an umpire.
“They both are regimented by the manner in which you conduct yourself,” he recently explained. “People are always looking to your decisions, and it gives you an opportunity to excel as a leader as well as a member of a team.”