An Alabamian who will lead the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission in Sarajevo received recognition Friday at the Alabama National Guard headquarters in Montgomery.

Brigadier Gen. Matthew Valas is the new commander and the senior military representative in the NATO operations to support Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gov. Kay Ivey and Alabama National Guard Adjutant General David Pritchett took part in ceremony to promote Valas from colonel to brigadier general.

Pritchett praised Valas as a “true, lead by example soldier” with vast experience in special forces, as state training officer for the Alabama Army National Guard, and other areas.

Asked about his promotion and new leadership role with NATO, Valas said, “It’s about the people that get you there more than it is you getting there yourself. And working with people that are willing to get you through, give you the hard answers that you need when you need them and being willing to accept those hard truths when you need to hear them.”

Valas served as a commander of special operation forces in Iraq and in Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and received his commission as an infantry officer from Hofstra University in 1988.

His biographical information on the program for Friday’s ceremony included a long list of military credentials in infantry, artillery, Ranger School, and others.

Valas said points in his career that could have been setbacks have pushed him outside his comfort zone and made him a stronger leader.

“I was turned down for multiple roles,” Valas said. “But I trusted in those leaders that said we have plans for you to do other things.”

“So, hard feedback, hard truth is what you need in life,” Valas said. “And you have to be willing to receive it, reflect, kind of blame yourself.”

Valas credited the Alabama National Guard, which has about 12,000 soldiers and airmen, for having a wide range of options to train in different fields.

“There’s so much opportunity here to do what you like and what you think you can enjoy and how you choose to contribute,” Valas said. “And you can do it and have a full career in the Alabama National Guard. It just seems to be that that’s what the state is. There’s abundant opportunity. There’s room for growth. It’s everywhere you turn in Alabama, it’s growth. And so the Alabama National Guard is another piece of that.”

Valas takes command of a mission NATO has pursued in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the early 1990s, working to promote peace and stability in a region that has historically been torn by conflict.

Among NATO’s objectives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the website of NATO’s Sarajevo headquarters, are increasing the ability of the armed forces to protect citizens, improving training, increasing transparency and civilian oversight of the military, fully integrating women into the military, and developing civil emergency and disaster management capabilities.

“Bosnia Herzegovina, you can read the history books,” Valas said. “The Balkans at large are a contentious region. And NATO has demonstrated their commitment since their war 30 years ago.

“Our commitment there is to support the defense and security reform for Bosnia and Herzegovina.”