Governor reappoints Lubbock professor to Texas Military Preparedness Commission

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott has reappointed Lubbock professor Annette L. Sobel, M.D., along with Tom Duncavage, Benjamin Miranda, Jr., Michael Bob Starr, and Timothy “Bounce” Strawther, to the Texas Military Preparedness Commission for terms set to expire on Feb. 1, 2029.

The commission's goal is to preserve, protect, expand and attract new military missions, assets and installations. Additionally, the Commission encourages defense-related businesses to expand or relocate in Texas, the governor's office said.

Dr. Sobel is an adjunct professor at the Department of Medical Education and at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech, an adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering at TTU, and an adjunct professor at the TTU Health Science Center School of Nursing. She is a former distinguished member of the technical staff at the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a guest scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Previously, Sobel served as director of intelligence for the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia; Homeland Security director and deputy secretary for public safety, New Mexico; senior advisor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency; and assistant secretary of defense in the field of countering chemical biological radiological weapons.

She served as chair of the Permanent Monitoring Panel for mitigation of acts of terrorism for the World Federation of Scientists. She achieved over 20 years of military service in 2008 and retired as a Major General in the Arizona Air National Guard with an honorable discharge with prior service in the United States Army, during which she held several medical commands.

Sobel is board president of the Red Cross for the South Plains and Panhandle and a board member of the Women’s Protective Services. Additionally, she is vice president of West Texas Susan G. Komen, chairman and board member of the Lubbock Veterans Advisory Committee, and a board member of the Boy Scouts of America, South Plains Council. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Aerospace Medical Association.

She is one of a small number of non-nurses to be elected Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and is a Fellow of the International Association of Aviation and Space Medicine.

Sobel received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Computer Science from Rutgers University, a Doctor of Medicine from Case Western Reserve University, and a Master of Science in Aerospace Medicine and Human Factors from Wright State University. She currently serves on the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. Sobel is recipient of multiple awards and recognition from NATO, Anti-Defamation League, and community service organizations.

These appointments are subject to senate confirmation.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Gov. reappoints Lubbock professor to Texas Military Preparedness Commission