AUGUSTA — A man with ties to Lewiston is headed toward becoming the state’s top military officer.

Col. James  D. Campbell, an Old Town native and the acting adjutant general of the Maine National Guard and commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, received unanimous approval Wednesday from the Legislature’s Committee on Veterans, Gambling and Legal Affairs.

Before its 12-0 vote in favor of Campbell, lawmakers asked him a host of questions on everything from state cybersecurity to homeless veterans.

Campbell said his top priority as the new leader for the department would be to focus on veterans affairs and outreach to veterans.

He said it is a challenging job given Maine’s increasingly diverse veteran population. He said the varying ages of veterans from World War II to current wars to the growth in the number of female veterans complicates that task.

“We need more veterans service officers and specifically we need to hire a female veteran service officer who is going to go out around the state and make contact with women veterans,” Campbell said. “We need more people out there to be in places to serve and connect with the veterans population.”

He detailed the loss two years ago of a service officer in Cumberland County, leaving the county with one person to handle veterans outreach. “That’s a key area. The vast majority of our veterans population lives in Cumberland County and when the main office that serves that county only has one person in it that really prevents us from being able to do the kind of outreach that we need to do.”

Nominated to the post by Gov. Paul LePage, Campbell has been serving as interim since General Bill Libby’s resignation last March.

Campbell joined the Maine Army National Guard in 1995, following nine years of active-duty service. He has served in various roles with the Maine Guard, including being an assistant professor of military science, University of Maine Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Battalion, commander of the 11th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in Waterville, and brigade executive officer of the 52nd Troop Command in Bangor, according to a release issued by LePage’s office following the committee vote.

Campbell most recently served as deputy chief of operational plans at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.

Campbell holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Colby College, and a master’s in European history and a Ph.D in British history from the University of Maine.

“As acting adjutant general, he is already proving himself a capable and diligent leader. I wish him luck in his Senate confirmation hearing,” LePage said in a prepared statement.

Libby also endorsed Campbell. Libby said Campbell possessed two important qualities, including contemporary military experience and leadership experience. He also needed to be a leader who could balance issues and challenges of running both a military and semi-civilian organization.

“He deals with the entire department; he deals with policy and strategic issues both nationally and locally,” Libby said. Libby said Campbell should also lean on his assistant adjutant generals for the National Guard and Air National Guard to respectively lead those organizations day to day. 

Libby said he spoke with LePage about it one time. Libby also dismissed a rumor that he said was going around regarding why Campbell left the Maine National Guard to take an assignment with the Army’s Central Command in Tampa. Libby said it had been rumored it was because Libby wouldn’t promote him 

Michael Cianchette, a policy adviser for LePage, said Campbell is living in Lewiston and had plans to relocate his family to the Lewiston-Auburn area.

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