(official bio to come)
Illinois Army National Guard Col. Jorge M. Fonseca, the Chief of Staff at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Middle East and Africa Regional Center, an Illinois State Police sergeant, and an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, has been selected as the next Illinois National Guard Director of the Joint Staff and will be promoted to brigadier general.
“Jorge Fonseca is an authentic leader of character who has had success leading large, multi-national, joint, dynamic, and complex organizations,” said Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, The Adjutant General of Illinois and Commander of the Illinois National Guard. “The complexity of Jorge’s leadership assignments and experiences make him more than qualified for the position. His national, international, combatant command, incident command, and law enforcement networks uniquely position him to excel as our next Director of the Joint Staff.”
Fonseca will replace Brig. Gen. Justin Osberg, who has been selected for promotion as the next Deputy, Combined Rear Area Coordinator, Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea.
“I am honored to represent my family, my community, and the Illinois National Guard as the Director of the Joint Staff,” Fonseca said. “Serving in the U.S. military has opened countless doors for me and my family, shaping our lives in extraordinary ways. I’m deeply honored and grateful for this next challenging assignment, and I look forward to returning to Illinois to continue to serve alongside the incredible Soldiers and Airmen of the Illinois National Guard.”
The Director of the Joint Staff serves as the advisor to the Adjutant General in all joint matters for the over 13,000 Soldiers and Airmen in the Illinois National Guard. This includes all domestic operations including the 5th Civil Support Team and Counterdrug programs as well as domestic emergency response and support to civil authorities. The Joint Staff also oversees the Illinois National Guard’s State Partnership Program with Poland, and overseas training exercises. The Illinois National Guard’s Family, Prevention, Sexual Assault Response, and Equal Opportunity programs as well as Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve coordination also fall under the Joint Staff.
Fonseca was born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, and is the third oldest of nine children in his family. He was raised in Chicago’s Little Village. He was the first in his family to attend college and graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in medical technology.
After five years as a medical technologist with the University of Chicago Hospitals, Fonseca became a law enforcement officer. He served with the Hillside Police Department for five years before becoming an Illinois State Police trooper in February 2002. He has served in various capacities with the Illinois State Police as a trooper, special agent, and sergeant while simultaneously moving up the ranks in the Illinois Army National Guard.
He received his Army commission as a Medical Service Corps officer from the Illinois Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School in 1996, after serving as an enlisted Combat Medic in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1991 to 1995. He transitioned to become a Military Intelligence officer in 2002.
Col. Fonseca has served with distinction in three combat deployments—twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq—demonstrating unwavering commitment in some of the most challenging environments. Most recently, from 2021 to 2023, he made history as the inaugural Commander of U.S. Army Garrison Poland in Poznań, Poland, where he played a pivotal role in establishing the garrison and strengthening operational readiness for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, as well as V Corps rotational forces. In Afghanistan, Col. Fonseca served alongside Polish forces on both deployments. He served as the Commander of the Bilateral Embedded Support Team (BEST) and Deputy Commander of Task Force White Eagle integrated with Polish forces on Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan from August 2016 to April 2017. From February 2012 to August 2013, he served as the Task Force White Eagle brigade intelligence officer with Polish forces in Ghazni, Afghanistan. From December 2005 until January 2007, he served in Baghdad in the Iraqi Government’s National Joint Operations Center as the Joint Senior Liaison Officer with Multi-National Force – Iraq.
As the Chief of Staff at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Middle East and Africa Regional Center (MARC), in Washington, DC, he leads the center’s staff, operations and integration efforts, ensures synchronization of MARC efforts across DIA, combatant commands, interagency, and foreign partners while also serving as the center’s senior military advisor.
Col. Fonseca previously served as the Chief of Intelligence Plans and Readiness at the Europe- Eurasia Regional Center (EERC) at DIA from 2019-2021. He led the plans team in advising the Center Chief on matters involving EERC equities within the Intelligence Community, United States European Command, and other combatant commands. Col. Fonseca is also dual hatted as the Director of Intelligence in Illinois National Guard’s Joint Staff.
Other past Illinois Army National Guard assignments include Commander, C Co., 341st Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist), and Deputy Commander, 129th Regional Training Institute. He has served in numerous staff officer positions at the brigade and tactical levels including the 108th Sustainment Brigade and the 244th Army Liaison Team.
His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, as well as two Bronze Star Medals, Meritorious Service Medals, Army Commendation Medals, and Army Achievement Medals. He also holds the Combat Action Badge and the Gold Medal of the Polish Armed Forces as well as other federal and state service awards and decorations.
He is a graduate of Army’s Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he earned a Master of Strategic Studies degree in June 2019.
As an Illinois State Police sergeant with over 28 years of law enforcement experience, he has received a life-saving award, a nomination for Officer of the Year, and in 2018, he was named one of Illinois Governor’s Honor 200 Bicentennial military veterans, honoring the work of 200 Illinois veterans whose contributions to their community are above and beyond the call of duty.
He is married to Andrea Fonseca and has three daughters, Sofia, Angelica, and Adrianna.