MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Brigadier General Jeffrey Newton has been appointed as the interim commissioner for the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to a news release from ADVA, the State Board of Veterans Affairs selected Newton as a candidate for the position during a board meeting on Oct. 10. He previously served as the assistant commissioner for operations and chief of staff for ADVA.
Before joining the ADVA in February 2021, Newton was the director of the joint staff of the Alabama National Guard. He is a graduate of Samford University and Auburn University.
His 41-year military career with the United States Air Force and the Alabama Air National Guard included numerous overseas deployments, supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Operation Noble Eagle.
His major military awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Force and Army Commendation Medals and the Alabama Distinguished Service Medal.
“[ADVA] provides the highest quality of care and services to those who have served our country, and we will continue to build on that mission and vision,” Newton stated in the release. “We will recommit ourselves to the idea of teamwork throughout state government in an effort to keep the legacies of Alabama’s Veterans at the forefronts of our minds. I look forward to continue working with Governor Kay Ivey to, as she said, make Alabama an even better place for Veterans to call home.”
Newton's appointment comes after Governor Kay Ivey removed Kent Davis as commissioner over allegations of mishandling departmental affairs.