State adjutant general

State Adjutant General Texas historical marker in Camp Mabry

Each state in the United States has a senior military officer, as the state adjutant general, who is the de facto commander of a state's military forces, including the National Guard residing within the state, the state's naval militia, and any state defense forces. This officer is known as TAG (The Adjutant General), and is subordinated to the chief executive (generally the state's governor). They do not have authority over police forces, only military forces.

Source of appointment

In 49 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands, the adjutant general is appointed by the governor. The exceptions are Vermont, where the adjutant general is appointed by a vote of the Vermont General Assembly, and the District of Columbia, where a commanding general is appointed by the President of the United States of America. Until 2016, South Carolina chose its adjutant general in statewide general elections, but after passage of a popular referendum, the holder of this position is now appointed by the governor.

Responsibilities

Each adjutant general shares a common responsibility for the state's National Guard plus a unique set of other responsibilities defined by the state's constitution, state statutes, and other state-level directives. In addition to their state responsibilities, each TAG is responsible to the federal government for the use and care of federal assets under the state's control. The National Guard Bureau (NGB) in the Department of Defense provides a centralized administrative, funding, and procurement process to support the states' military departments. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau also provides input as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on national military activities as they relate to the National Guard.

The 54 adjutants general collectively form the Adjutants General Association of the United States (AGAUS) which strives to enhance both state and national military security. A professional military guard organization, the National Guard Association of the United States serves to lobby both Congress and the Executive branch about common needs of the Guard as a whole and also provide support to members of the National Guard.

National Guard

Each adjutant general commands their state's Army and Air National Guard units which are not on federal active duty. When a National Guard unit is federalized it is moved from state command to the Department of Defense and placed under an Army or Air Force command.

State defense forces

Twenty-three adjutants general have responsibility for military land forces that comprise state level militias under the command of the various governors and generally have state support missions. Eight of which maintain a naval militia division. Two adjutants general, Puerto Rico and Texas, are also responsible for an air support component.

Emergency management agencies

Some adjutant generals are responsible for oversight of the state's emergency management organization. These groups are non-military organizations but have a close working relationship with the state's National Guard and any state defense forces. They are the state level agency that works directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters.

Homeland security

Some states have assigned their adjutant general the responsibility for overseeing homeland security. In other states, this responsibility may be assigned to the state's law enforcement agency instead.

Veteran’s affairs

Some states place their veteran's affairs organization in the state's military department under the oversight of the state adjutant general. Other states have an independent veteran's affairs department.

List of adjutants general

Each adjutant general is the senior officer in the state's military structure. Many hold federal rank as active duty general officers, but others may for a variety of reasons, including mandatory federal military retirement age, only hold general officer rank from their state.

Title Adjutant General State, district,
or insular area
Rank Svc Assumed
office
Appointed
by
The Adjutant General of Alabama Sheryl E. Gordon Alabama Major General ARNG 2017 Governor
The Adjutant General of Alaska Torrence Saxe Alaska Lieutenant General (AK) ANG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Arizona Kerry L. Muehlenbeck Arizona Major General ANG 2021 Governor
The Adjutant General of Arkansas Kendall W. Penn Arkansas Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of California Matthew P. Beevers California Major General ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Colorado Laura L. Clellan Colorado Brigadier General ARNG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of Connecticut Francis J. Evon Jr. Connecticut Major General ARNG 2018 Governor
The Adjutant General of Delaware Michael R. Berry Delaware Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Commanding General,
District of Columbia National Guard
John C. Andonie District of Columbia Major General ARNG 2023 President
The Adjutant General of the
District of Columbia National Guard
Aaron R. Dean II District of Columbia Brigadier General ARNG 2018 President
The Adjutant General of Florida John D. Haas Florida Major General ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Georgia Thomas M. Carden Jr. Georgia Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Guam Michael Cruz Guam Brigadier General (GU) ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Hawaii Kenneth S. Hara Hawaii Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Idaho Michael J. Garshak Idaho Major General ARNG 2017 Governor
The Adjutant General of Illinois Richard R. Neely Illinois Major General ANG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Indiana R. Dale Lyles Indiana Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Iowa Stephen E. Osborn Iowa Major General ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Kansas Michael T. Venerdi Kansas Brigadier General ANG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Kentucky Haldane B. Lamberton Kentucky Major General (KY) ARNG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of Louisiana D. Keith Waddell Louisiana Major General ARNG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of Maine Douglas A. Farnham Maine Major General ANG 2016 Governor
The Adjutant General of Maryland Janeen L. Birckhead Maryland Major General ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Massachusetts Gary W. Keefe
Massachusetts Major General ANG 2016 Governor
The Adjutant General of Michigan Paul D. Rogers Michigan Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Minnesota Shawn P. Manke Minnesota Major General ARNG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of Mississippi Janson D. Boyles Mississippi Major General ARNG 2016 Governor
The Adjutant General of Missouri Levon E. Cumpton Missouri Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Montana John P. Hronek Montana Major General ANG 2021 Governor
The Adjutant General of Nebraska Craig W. Strong Nebraska Major General (NE) ANG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Nevada Ondra L. Berry Nevada Major General ANG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of New Hampshire David J. Mikolaities New Hampshire Major General ARNG 2017 Governor
The Adjutant General of New Jersey Lisa Hou New Jersey Brigadier General ARNG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of New Mexico Miguel Aguilar New Mexico Major General ARNG 2021 Governor
The Adjutant General of New York Raymond F. Shields Jr. New York Major General ARNG 2018 Governor
The Adjutant General of North Carolina M. Todd Hunt North Carolina Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of North Dakota Alan S. Dohrmann North Dakota Major General ARNG 2015 Governor
The Adjutant General of Ohio John C. Harris Jr. Ohio Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Oklahoma Thomas H. Mancino Oklahoma Major General ARNG 2021 Governor
The Adjutant General of Oregon Alan Gronewold Oregon Colonel ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Pennsylvania Mark J. Schindler Pennsylvania Major General ARNG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of Puerto Rico Miguel A. Mendez Puerto Rico Major General (PR) ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Rhode Island Christopher P. Callahan Rhode Island Major General ARNG 2015 Governor
The Adjutant General of South Carolina R. Van McCarty South Carolina Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of South Dakota Mark R. Morrell South Dakota Major General (SD) ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Tennessee Jeffrey H. Holmes Tennessee Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Texas Thomas M. Suelzer Texas Major General ANG 2022 Governor
The Adjutant General of Utah Daniel D. Boyack Utah Brigadier General ANG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Vermont Gregory C. Knight Vermont Major General ARNG 2019 Legislature
The Adjutant General of theU.S. Virgin Islands Kodjo S. Knox-Limbacker U.S. Virgin Islands Major General ARNG 2019 Governor
The Adjutant General of Virginia James W. Ring Virginia Major General ARNG 2023 Governor
The Adjutant General of Washington Bret D. Daugherty Washington Major General ARNG 2012 Governor
The Adjutant General of West Virginia William E. Crane West Virginia Major General ARNG 2021 Governor
The Adjutant General of Wisconsin Paul E. Knapp Wisconsin Major General ANG 2020 Governor
The Adjutant General of Wyoming Gregory C. Porter Wyoming Major General ARNG 2019 Governor

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-12-15 02:37 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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