NM Army National Guard promotes first female general, here's her story

When Pia Romero enlisted in the military more than three decades ago, she viewed it as a way to pay for college and to give back to her community.

“I come from a small northern New Mexico town,” she said, “and I knew the military would provide me an education, and I could take advantage of those possibilities.”

Never would she have imagined it would launch a career that would take her from Embudo, New Mexico to all over the world and back home again during her 10 years with the Army Reserve and serving in the New Mexico National Guard for the past 28.

In the National Guard, she was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 and served in several key positions during the disaster responses to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav.

Her career has been full of historic moments. During her Iraq deployment, Romero commanded the 1115th Transportation Company, which made her the second woman in the New Mexico Army National Guard’s history to command a unit during combat. In 2020, she became the first woman to command a brigade in the state Army National Guard when she directed the 111th Sustainment Brigade.

But her most historic moment came in September, when she was promoted to brigadier general — the first female to reach the rank of general in the New Mexico Army National Guard’s more than 100-year history. Romero was officially promoted during a ceremony held at the New Mexico National Guard Regional Training Institute in Santa Fe on Sept. 24.

Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, the adjutant general for New Mexico, presided over the ceremony.

“(Romero) did what this organization does, which is build leaders. It’s the greatness of this organization,” Aguilar said in a news release. “She’s done amazingly well and has absolutely earned this opportunity.”

Romero’s husband, Ryan, and their son Juan Diego were also at the ceremony and replaced the silver eagle emblems on the shoulders of her uniform with silver stars to represent her new rank.

Romero holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the College of Santa Fe and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Mexico. She is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College Fellowship at Texas A&M University.

Speaking to the Journal after the ceremony, Romero said the historic meaning of the promotion hadn’t fully sunk in, but she hopes it inspires other female solders.

“It’s very humbling, but I think it also shows that anything is possible,” she said. “There’s a lot to be done, but that continued empowerment of our female service members, especially in the next generation, is something we must invest in.”