AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci’s final Cabinet nominee is headed for a Senate vote, with confirmation assumed.

Brig. Gen. John Libby of Waterville was endorsed 9-0 Friday by the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee.

It would take a two-thirds Senate vote to overturn the committee recommendation.

If confirmed, Libby, the Maine National Guard’s deputy adjutant general since 1999, will serve as commissioner of the state’s Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management.

His duties would include overseeing the state’s Air and Army National Guard, the Maine Emergency Management Agency and the Bureau of Veterans Services.

Libby would succeed Maj. Gen. Joseph Tinkham, who is retiring.

Tinkham was among those testifying in support of Libby’s nomination on Friday and characterized him as “a soldier’s general.”

Addressing committee lawmakers himself, Libby said he feared that Maine’s military could face “a significant strength challenge” in the next 18 to 24 months, brought about by more troop call-ups.

Homeland security initiatives will remain atop the department’s priority list, he said.

Libby said he also hoped to foster the ability of Maine’s 154,000 veterans to “consistently speak with one voice.”

Libby, a Lewiston native, is a Vietnam veteran.

He has a master’s degree from the University of Maine, where he also earned his undergraduate degree.

Deputy commissioner since 1999, Libby served prior to that as MEMA director. In that post, he oversaw response and recovery operations during the 1998 ice storm.

Libby’s confirmation hearing came on the first day of Baldacci’s second year as Maine’s chief executive.

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