Brigadier General Jorge M. Fonseca was appointed Director of the Illinois National Guard Joint Staff in May 2025. In this role, he is the senior advisor to the Adjutant General in all joint matters. He leads joint force integration, interagency coordination, and operational oversight across Army and Air National Guard elements. He is responsible for ensuring readiness and unity of effort across a diverse portfolio of state and federal missions, including all domestic operations, Counterdrug programs, domestic emergency response and support to civil authorities. The Joint Staff also oversees the Illinois National Guard’s State Partnership Program with Poland and Portugal. The Joint Staff also oversees the Illinois National Guard’s Family programs, Prevention workforce, Sexual Assault Response, and Equal Opportunity programs as well as Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve coordination.
Fonseca enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1991 and commissioned as a Medical Service Corps officer in 1996 through Officer Candidate School.
Throughout his career, Fonseca has held a broad range of command, staff, intelligence, and joint assignments. Most recently he served as the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Chief of Staff of the Middle East/Africa Regional Center, and previously as Deputy Center Chief for Integration.
Fonseca commanded U.S. Army Garrison Poland, headquartered in Poznań, Poland, where he was the Army’s first garrison commander on NATO’s eastern flank, overseeing all installation support functions, host nation coordination, and permanent U.S. infrastructure expansion in support of forward-deployed forces across multiple operating sites
Fonseca’s other assignments include DIA’s Chief of Intelligence Operations, Plans, and Readiness; Deputy Commander of the Illinois National Guard’s 129th Regional Training Institute; Chief of the Training Division at the Illinois National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters; Brigade Intelligence Officer; and commander of Company C., 341st Military Intelligence Battalion.
Fonseca deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 as the Intelligence Officer for Bilateral Embedded Support Team (BEST) 10, and again in 2016 as the commander of BEST 17. He deployed to Iraq in 2005 where he served as a senior liaison officer with Multinational Forces-Iraq.
Fonseca’s military education includes Officer Candidate School, Army Medical Department Officer Basic Course, Military Intelligence Transition and Advanced Courses, Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army War College, the Joint Task Force Commanders Training Course, and the Dual Status Commander Course.
He holds Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College
Among his numerous awards and decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation and Achievement Medals, the Combat Action Badge, and campaign medals from Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also been awarded the NATO Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Citation, and the Gold Medal of the Polish Army.
In his civilian capacity, Fonseca serves as a Sergeant with the Illinois State Police, assigned to the Division of Criminal Investigations.
Fonseca was selected as one of the Illinois Bicentennial Honor 200 Recipients in 2018.
He is married to Andrea Fonseca and has three daughters, Sofia, Angelica, and Adrianna.
(Current as of July 2025)