Chief Warrant Officer 5 Casey Akins was announced on Jan. 16 as the state’s new command chief warrant officer (CCWO) of the Nevada National Guard, said Brig. Gen. D. Rodger Waters, the adjutant general.
Akins replaces Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steve Nielsen, who has served as CCWO since 2021. Nielsen is a 1994 Carson High School graduate.
The CCWO is the senior-ranking warrant officer in the Nevada National Guard, serving as the principal advisor to the adjutant general and leaders on warrant officer matters influencing the health, morale, and professional development of the Nevada Army National Guard’s warrant officer corps.
Akins currently serves as commander, Detachment 3, Company B, 2-641st Aviation, also known as Detachment 45 Operation Support Airlift (OSA). This is the Nevada Army National Guard’s only fixed-wing aviation unit. The unit maintains and operates the twin-engine, turboprop C-12 Huron. Akins has worked as a pilot in the unit for the past nine years.
Akins, a Fernley High graduate, joined the U.S. Army in 2002. After serving nine years on active duty, she joined the Nevada Army National Guard as a CH-47 D instructor pilot in 2011. She has worked as a C-12 pilot since 2017.
Akins assumed command of Det. 45 OSA in 2024. She has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a CH-47 pilot and Africa as a C-12 pilot. She will remain dual hatted, assisting Det. 45 OSA as the unit prepares for its deployment to U.S. Central Command next year. She is set to assume her position as Nevada’s CCWO in March.
Nielsen, a CH-47 Chinook pilot, held the CCWO position for five years, working on various initiatives to improve the health, welfare, and morale of the Nevada National Guard’s warrant officer force. He was also an advisor to two adjutants general during his tenure.
Nielsen will retire later this year and will transition to civilian life under his new role as veterans service coordinator at Liberty Dogs, a position he began in November 2025.
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