Brig. Gen. Ken Borchers
Commander, Washington Air National Guard
Brig. Gen. Ken Borchers is the commander of the Washington Air National Guard. He is responsible for the 2,100 citizen-airmen in the Washington Air National Guard's 141st Air Refueling Wing, 194th Wing and the Western Air Defense Sector.
General Borchers entered the Air Force in January of 1992 as a traditional guard enlisted command and control specialist with the 111th Air Support Operations Center, Washington Air National Guard, Camp Murray. He was selected for commission as an intelligence officer in 1996. Shortly after graduation from intelligence training he became the full-time Senior Intelligence Officer for the 305th Rescue Squadron, Air Force Reserve Command, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. While a member of the 305th, he deployed on numerous occasions in support of Operation NORTHERN WATCH, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. General Borchers took a four year hiatus from his full-time reserve component career to work as a Senior Criminal Research Specialist for the Department of Homeland Security specializing in Financial and Trade Investigations. During this period he served as a traditional guardsman with the 262d Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron, Washington Air National Guard as squadron tactics officer.
Later he served with the 142d Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard as a traditional guard intelligence weapons officer. He returned to Washington as the Director of Operations for the newly established 194th Intelligence Squadron in 2008. He was later transferred back to the 262d Network Warfare Squadron as the Detachment Commander in August of 2010. He took command of the 194th Intelligence Squadron on 6 November 2011. In October, 2015 he transitioned to the 252d Cyberspace Operations Group as the Deputy Commander and was appointed Commander on 4 November 2017. Prior to assuming his current position, General Borchers was the commander of the 194th Wing, Camp Murray, Wash, where he was responsible for assuring worldwide readiness to support multiple federal and state missions in Special Warfare, Intelligence, and Cyberspace Operations.
EDUCATION
1992 Basic Military Training, Lackland AFB, TX
1992 Command and Control Specialist Training, Keesler AFB, MS
1995 Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, Gonzaga University, WA
1996 Academy of Military Science, McGhee-Tyson ANGB, TN
1997 Intelligence Officer Training, Goodfellow AFB, TX
2001 USAF Weapons School, Outstanding Graduate, Academic Award, Nellis AFB, NV
2004 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2008 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2015 Air War College, by correspondence
2022 Domestic Joint Task Force Commander Course (JCTC), U.S. Northern Command, Ft. Carson, CO
2023 Dual Status Commander Orientation (DSC), U.S. Northern Command, Peterson SFB, CO
2023 General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA
ASSIGNMENTS
- January 1992—May 1996, Command and Control Specialist, 111th Air Support Operations Squadron, Camp Murray,
Wash. - May 1996—May 1998, Intelligence Officer, 111th Air Support Operations Squadron, Camp Murray, Wash.
- May 1998—March 2004, Chief of Intelligence Operations, 305th Rescue Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base,
Ariz. - March 2004—January 2006, Tactics Officer, 262d Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.
- January 2006—February 2008, Intelligence Weapons Officer, 142d Operations Support Squadron, Portland Air
National Guard Base, Ore. - February 2008—November 2011, Director of Operations, 194th Intelligence Squadron, Camp Murray, Wash.
- November 2011—October 2015, Commander, 194th Intelligence Squadron, Camp Murray, Wash.
- October 2015—November 2017, Deputy Commander, 252d Cyberspace Operations Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
- November 2017—December 2019, Commander, 252d Cyberspace Operations Group, JB Lewis-McChord, Wash.
- December 2019—August 2023, Commander, 194th Wing, Camp Murray, Wash.
- August 2023—June 2024, Director of Joint Staff, Washington National Guard and Chief of Staff, Washington Military Department, Camp Murray, Wash.
- June 2024 —Present, Commander, Washington Air National Guard, Washington Military Department, Camp Murray, Wash.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant - May 23, 1996
First Lieutenant - May 23, 1998
Captain - Sept 29, 2000
Major - Jan 7, 2005
Lieutenant Colonel - Feb 23, 2009
Colonel - Sept 15, 2016
Brigadier General - Aug 1, 2023
(Current as of Sep 2023)
Former Assistant Adjutants General and Commanders - Air National Guard
Brig. Gen. Robert King - Nov 1964-Jan 1978
Brig. Gen. Donald Richards - Feb 1978-May 1980
Col. Robert Ranzenbach - Aug 1980-Feb 1981
Brig. Gen. Milton H. Towne - Feb 1981-Aug 1983
Vacant - Sept 1983-Dec 1984
Brig. Gen. Milton H. Towne - Jan 1985-Jan 1988
Maj. Gen. Dennis B. Hague - Nov 1987-Apr 1989
Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Lowenberg - May 1989-Sep 1993
Maj. Gen. Frank Scoggins - Mar 1994-Feb 2007
Maj. Gen. Gary Magonigle - Feb 2007-November 2013
Brig. Gen. John Tuohy - December 2013 - August 2017
Brig. Gen. Jeremy "Java" Horn - September 2017 - Jan 2020
Brig. Gen. Gent Welsh - Jan 2020 - Jun 2024
