NMDVS secretary brings lifetime of experience to job

  • Published
  • By Ryan Stark
  • Nucleus writer
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services Secretary Jack Fox is hitting the ground running.

Fox was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez in November to replace the outgoing secretary, retired Air Force Col. Tim Hale. He was confirmed for the position by the state Senate on Feb. 23.

Fox said the first indication he got about the job was a phone call from Hale. Fox was was happily retired when he got the call, he said.

"I hadn't even thought about doing this," Fox said.

After a series of interviews and a meeting with Martinez, Fox said he was sure it was the job for him, however.

"I knew I wanted to join the team," he said.

NMDVS was created in 2003 to help veterans navigate the system and get their federal and state benefits. With 18 field offices around the state, NMDVS is meant to assist veterans at locations close to home. In addition to federal Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, the state offers tax credits and exemptions, employment and business counseling, scholarships, special license plates, assistance for homeless veterans and more.

And Fox is no strange to the military and the needs of its veterans. A retired brigadier general, he was commissioned into the Army as a Second Lieutenant/Infantry in 1969. He went on to serve in the Army Reserves and New Mexico National Guard.

His assignments included stints as a combat training officer and infantry brigade commander. He also spent time at the U.S. Army Infantry School and served as a company commander.

After retiring from the Guard as a colonel in 1995, he worked as a high school teacher in Texas, commandant of the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell and president of a military school in Kansas.

In 2007, he was recalled by the Guard to be New Mexico deputy adjutant general and was promoted to the one-star rank. He retired again in 2010.

Fox also holds a bachelor's degree from New Mexico State University in government and a master's degree from Georgia State University in education and is a graduate of New Mexico Military Institute.

In his new job, reaching out to veterans in rural areas is a high priority, he said.

"If you separate from the military in Albuquerque, it's a little easier," he said. "But if you're in Clayton, New Mexico, things are a little more challenging."

NMDVS' rural outreach effort is funded by a $2 million federal grant. New Mexico is one of five states that received the grant.

Fox is also spearheading an effort to build four regional national cemeteries. The state's main veterans' cemetery is located in Santa Fe. Fox said the plan is to build additional cemeteries in Angel Fire, Carlsbad, Fort Stanton and Gallup.

"The cemeteries will meet that need closer to where our veterans and their families live," Fox said.

For more on NMDVS, go to at dvs.state.nm.us.