Retired 2-Star General, longtime Nevada Guard advocate Maj. Gen. Robert T. Herbert dies

Retired Nevada Army National Guard Maj. Gen. Robert T. Herbert, who rose through the organization’s ranks as an aviator and served as long-time senior policy advisor for Sen. Harry Reid, died suddenly Friday. He was 64.

“Maj. Gen. Herbert was an exceptional soldier, long-time advocate for the Nevada National Guard and dear friend,” Maj. Gen Ondra Berry, Nevada adjutant general, said. “It’s not an exaggeration to say he was the most influential soldier in advancing Nevada Army and Air National Guard policy and initiatives over the course of the past three decades.”

Herbert served in the U.S. Army for 42 years in all types of enlisted, warrant officer and officer positions during his long military career. He entered the Army at age 18 in 1975 and began his career patrolling the East-West German border. He later became Director of Aviation and Deputy Commander of the Nevada Army Guard. He subsequently was a special assistant to the Chief of the National Guard and became the Nevada Army Guard’s lone major general before retiring in 2018.

Herbert was renowned as a leader in the aviation community and was an expert in national transportation policy. He accrued more than 7,000 flight hours as a commercial and military pilot on both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. From 1995-2001, he was the Director of Aviation for the Nevada Guard and managed the operations and maintenance of 27 aircraft.

In his civilian occupation, Herbert served as the Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Appropriations for Senator Harry Reid in Washington, D.C. He managed all 12 federal spending bills for the Senator and advised Reid on transportation, defense, Veterans, and homeland security matters.

This spring, the Nevada National Guard handed its armory in Lyon County over to the city of Yerington to become the Mason Valley town’s new city hall with the name Maj. Gen. Robert T. Herbert Administrative Building.

“I and our entire Nevada National Guard family are extremely saddened to hear the news of his passing,” Nevada’s adjutant general said. “I offer my sincere condolences to his wife Karen, their family, and everyone who came to deeply know and respect him.”