Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara retiring; Birg. Gen. Stephen Logan named successor

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., announced today that Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Hara, the Adjutant General (TAG) for the state of Hawaiʻi, Commander of the Hawaiʻi National Guard, and Director of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency will resign as TAG on Oct. 1, 2024 and retire from the military on Nov. 1, 2024 after 40 years of military service.

Green has selected Brig. Gen. Stephen F. Logan, currently the Deputy Adjutant General (DAG) for the state of Hawaiʻi and commander of the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard, as the next TAG.

“Throughout his entire career, Maj. Gen. Hara led by example, providing a steady hand through some of the most challenging times in the history of our state and nation. I can say with confidence that the state of Hawaiʻi is better because of Maj. Gen. Hara’s dedicated service, commitment and sacrifices. I wish him all the best in retirement,” said Green. “With that said, I could not be more thrilled that he is leaving the Hawaiʻi National Guard under the exceptional leadership of Brig. Gen. Stephen Logan. He is a key component of the Hawaiʻi National Guard’s success and his appointment as Adjutant General marks another historic milestone in a storied military career.”

As TAG, Logan will serve as the Commander of the Hawaiʻi National Guard and Director of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency. He will be responsible for daily operations and oversee approximately 5,600 Army and Air National Guard servicemembers which includes approximately 2,100 full-time federal and state employees. Logan’s appointment as TAG requires Hawaiʻi state Senate confirmation.

The state of Hawaiʻi, Department of Defense will conduct its official Change of Responsibility ceremony on Oct. 1, 2024.

“I am grateful and proud to have served with the extraordinary members of the state of Hawaiʻi, Department of Defense, who accomplished every assigned state and federal mission during extremely challenging times,” said Hara. “And I have full faith and confidence in Brig. Gen. Steve Logan and know that he will successfully lead the department into the future.”

Hara, served on three combat deployments to Baghdad, Iraq; Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; and Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was appointed TAG in December, 2019. He served as the state’s overall incident commander from 2020-2023 during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Hara again served as the state’s incident commander for the Maui wildfire response in 2023 to present.

Logan, a combat veteran who has served in Afghanistan; has been the DAG since Dec. 2019 and Commander of the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard since Oct. 2021. He most recently served as the dual status commander of the Hawaiʻi National Guard’s Joint Task Force 50, which was activated in response to the 2023 Maui wildfire disaster.

“I’m truly honored and humbled to be selected as the Adjutant General for the state of Hawaiʻi, and extremely proud to be a member of Governor Green’s Cabinet,” said Logan. “I also want to thank the dedicated efforts of the many great leaders who’ve held this post before me, most notably Maj. Gen. Hara for his decisive leadership through these challenging times.”

Logan grew up on the island of Oʻahu and enlisted as an Infantry Soldier in the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard during his senior year in high school. He then commissioned through the Guard’s Officer Candidate School and later attended the US Army’s Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training Course and flew both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft for almost 30 years. He has served honorably in the military for more than 40 years.

Prior to being selected as the State Army Aviation Officer, Logan was a traditional National Guard soldier holding positions in the Honolulu Police Department, retiring as a Metropolitan Police Lieutenant in 2004.

Logan’s successor will be named in the coming months.