Colonel Timothy J. Newman is the acting Chief of the Illinois National Guard Joint Staff and the Director of Strategic Plans and Policies (J5).
He enlisted into the Illinois Army National Guard in 1999 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment then based in Marion. In 2001, he entered Officer Candidate School at the 129th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) in Springfield and commissioned as an Engineer Officer in 2002. He gained a second branch as Logistics Officer in 2014.
Colonel Newman’s assignments include serving as a Combat Engineer Platoon Leader in the 135th Engineer Company in Lawrenceville. In 2005, he served in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Combat Engineer Platoon Leader assigned to A Company, 876th Engineer Battalion, 2-28th BCT in the Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Upon returning from Iraq, he took command of the former 135th Engineer Company and transformed the unit into the 631st Engineer Support Company. In 2009, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Ghazni Province, Afghanistan with the Bilateral Embedded Support Team as a Brigade Battle Captain serving with the Polish Army in the 1st AR BDE (Polish). After returning, he served as an Assistant Engineer Operations Officer and Plans Officer on the staff of the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade and in 2011, he transferred to the 766th Engineer Battalion serving as the battalion operations officer. In 2014, he deployed to Kuwait, again in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the brigade support operations officer (SPO) with the 108th Sustainment Brigade. In 2015, he served as an engineer plans officer with the facilities branch in Joint Force Headquarters - Illinois, as well as a team chief and engineer plans officer for the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. In late 2015, he stood up the 1886th Engineer Facility Detachment, a new unit for the Illinois Army National Guard, serving as the lead facilities/contract construction management engineer before being selected to take command of the 766th Brigade Engineer Battalion in September 2016. In late 2019, he left battalion command to serve as the mobilization readiness division chief within the Plans Operations and Training Directorate (G3) in Joint Force Headquarters - Illinois. In 2020, he took command of the 108th Sustainment Brigade in Chicago. In mid-2023, he left command to serve as the J5, Director of Strategic Plans and Policies.
Colonel Newman’s military decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star (1st oak leaf cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (2nd oak leaf cluster), Army Commendation Medal (2nd oak leaf cluster), Army Achievement Medal (1st oak leaf cluster), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (7th oak leaf cluster), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Iraqi Campaign Medal with 2 Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device and Silver Hour Glass, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (3rd Award), Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon (4th Award), NATO Medal, Abraham Lincoln Medal of Freedom (3rd Award), Illinois Long and Honorable Service Medal (4th Award), Illinois Military Attendance Ribbon (11th Award), Illinois State Active Duty Ribbon, North Carolina Commendation Medal, Bronze Polish Army Medal, Army Meritorious Unit Commendation (2nd Award), Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2nd Award), Pennsylvania Governor’s Unit Citation Army and Combat Action Badge. He is also a national recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.
Colonel Newman is the Assistant Dean of Facilities for the University Library at the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and master’s degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign, and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Colonel Newman resides with his wife, Evie, and son, Jameson, in Fisher, Illinois.
Updated March 2024