Waters reflects on 40-year career that began in Panama
By Steve Ranson, Nevada News Group
RENO-STEAD AIRPORT — A soldier who rose through the ranks of the military was promoted to the rank of brigadier general Friday in a ceremony conducted at the Nevada Army National Guard’s aviation facility.
Brig. Gen. Dan Waters of Sparks has spent 39 years in the military, enlisting after graduating from high school in Tempe, Arizona.
As one of two Nevada Army National Guard generals responsible for 3,300 soldiers statewide, Waters will continue serving as director of the Combined Joint Staff, a position he assumed earlier this year. Waters was also eligible for promotion.
“I love Nevada, I love the military and I love the mission,” said the 55-year-old general.
Adjutant General Maj. Gen Ondra Berry praised Waters before promoting the veteran aviator.
“We can’t thank you and your family for all you have done,” Berry said before several hundred Nevada Guard members and civilians.
Berry recapped Waters’ career not only in Nevada but during several overseas tours.
“It’s a huge leap of faith,” Berry said when someone of Waters’ background receives a promotion to general. “Missions don’t happen to us. We are the defenders of freedom and enforcers of peace.”
Nevada’s two Army brigadier generals also serve as advisers to Berry, who was appointed in September 2019. Brig. Gen. Troy Armstrong is the Nevada Army National Guard’s Land Component commander, while Waters will oversee human resources, intelligence, joint operations, cyber security, the counter drug task force, emergency management and the 92nd Civil Support Team.
Berry, along with Waters’ wife Kimberly and two of their adult children, assisted the state’s newest general with replacing his rank. The general’s one-star flag was also presented to him.
After Waters was introduced and requested to come to the podium, he received loud, enthusiastic clapping and cheering for more than a half minute from the guests.
“I am very humbled today,” Waters said. “The people, the mission the organization. Here I am in a position I didn’t imagine was attainable just a short time ago.
If he hadn’t received orders for the promotion, Waters said he and Kimberly were planning to leave Reno where he would accept a position with the U.S. Europe Command (EUCOM). Waters thanked many of his fellow soldiers and friends for attending the ceremony.
“I am honored by the trust and confidence shown by the governor (Gov. Joe Lombardo) and General Berry,” Waters added.
Waters also works side-by-side with the Nevada Division of Emergency Management and Office of Homeland Security. During the past five years, he said emergency management and the Nevada National Guard have closely worked together in combatting major weather incidents and the coronavirus pandemic.
“He is my counterpart when dealing with state emergencies,” Waters said. “He brings a level of experience the Nevada National Guard hasn’t seen before.”
In addition to working with other state agencies, Waters said the Nevada National Guard also interacts with Nellis Air Force Base east of Las Vegas and Naval Air Station Fallon. He said the Nevada Guard annually participates in a joint operation with NAS Fallon and the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, but he said the training dictates the type of aircraft used. He pointed out the Nevada Guard aviation assets include rotary aircraft from the Army Aviation Support Facility at Stead and fixed wing aircraft from the Nevada Air Guard base in Reno.
“We’ve been doing that for several years,” Waters said of the training, adding the Navy and Nevada Guard have developed a great partnership.
Waters’ military career has taken him to three continents and numerous countries. After enlisting in 1985 and attending basic and his advanced training, Waters was sent to Fort Kobbe, Panama, for a three-year tour with an aviation unit.
“It was a great assignment for a young person,” Waters recalled. “It’s perpetual summer down there and a beautiful sportsman’s paradise.”
In 1987, Waters then transferred with his unit to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
After his enlistment ended, Waters returned to Arizona where he was hired by a fire department. He also transferred to the Arizona Army National Guard and was eventually accepted into the Officer Candidate School, graduating in 1992.
What became Arizona’s loss became Nevada’s gain in 1993. The Nevada Army National Guard replaced its CH-54 twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter with the Chinooks, but the state lacked qualified pilots. Waters said he was interested in flying the Chinooks even if it meant leaving Arizona.
“General Herbert scooped me up,” Water said, smiling.
At the time Herbert was a captain in charge of the 113th Aviation Company at Stead. Although he initially wanted to fly the Apache, Waters accepted the challenge to fly the larger helicopter and attend schooling.
The Waters met when he was training in Texas, and she was a soldier in the North Dakota Army National Guard. They are the parents of three adult children: Emily, 27, who works at Renown Medical Center; Justin, 24, a human resource specialist; and Jake, 22, an active-duty soldier currently stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia, specializing in cybersecurity.
Waters had his first opportunity to deploy overseas as commander of the “Wolf Pack” company which flew the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The Nevada company became part of the 10th Mountain Division that deployed to Kosovo in 2001 and 2002 as part of Operation Joint Guardian, a NATO peacekeeping mission.
The thought took him to when he was 8 years old.
“My dad wanted me to be a fighter pilot,” Waters said. “But I didn’t want to be a fighter pilot. I wanted to fly helicopters.”
His father, said Waters, nevertheless supported him 100%.
Waters’ other assignments also included the following:
• The 82nd Airborne Division as an Afghan National Army Planner and Operations Officer as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Security Cooperation and Partnering Division Chief for U. S. European Command.
• The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment as the Brigade Tactical Group operations officer at the National Training Center as Part of Operation Noble Eagle.
“It was a great ground experience,’ Waters said of the training at the NTC located at Fort Irwin, Calif.
As a lieutenant colonel he served as the first commander of the 17th Special Troops Battalion and as a colonel, he commanded the 991st Multifunctional Brigade.
Waters also served as staff director to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, chair for the Department of Military Science at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and a Brookings Institute Legislative Fellow.
Although he completed his initial officer training in aviation, Waters also attended the infantry advanced officers course.
“If you get the opportunity, go outside your branch and take it,” he recommended.
Water volunteered to be part of an international force in EUCOM where he served as the Security Cooperation and Partnering Division chief.
Other assignments included staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism and as a Brookings Institute Legislative Fellow.
In addition to his basic and advanced training and flight school, Waters’ military schooling include the U.S. Air Force Air War College and the National War College where he earned a Master of Science in National Security Strategy. He earned a Master of Business Administration at the University of Nevada, Reno and a post-graduate certificate in Advanced Public Policy Leadership from George Washington University.
Waters is a graduate of both the Harvard University Senior Executive Fellows and Syracuse University National Security Management Programs.
Waters’ decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with one Silver Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Medal. He earned the Army Senior Aviator Badge, Army Aviation Badge, Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Air Assault Badge, U.S. Navy Scuba Badge, and Ranger Tab.
Additionally, he is a 1999 recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award. 
