Nat’l Guard Birckhead adjutant gen.

Native of Snow Hill earned unanimous election by Senate an annual budget of $182 million. in the U.S. Department of the Interior.

(April 13, 2023) Maryland Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, a native of Snow Hill, has been unanimously confirmed by the Maryland Senate to be the 31st adjutant general of Maryland.

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EDITOR ............................................ Stewart Dobson

MANAGING EDITOR ................................ Lisa Capitelli

STAFF WRITERS Jack Chavez, Mallory Panuska, ............................................Cindy Hoffman, Hunter Hine

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CLASSIFIEDS/LEGALS MANAGER .... Nancy MacCubbin

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GRAPHIC ARTIST .................................... Kelly Brown

PUBLISHER........................................ Christine Brown

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ...................... Gini Tufts

Gov. Wes Moore announced Birckhead’s nomination to lead the Maryland Military Department during a press conference at the State House in Annapolis on April 5.

“I am proud to nominate Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead to serve as Maryland’s next adjutant general,” Moore said.. “With her extensive knowledge and leadership experience within the Maryland Army National Guard, she will bring invaluable expertise to this role.”

“As Maryland’s adjutant general, I pledge to serve the people of Maryland with unwavering dedication,” Birckhead said. “I believe in the importance of the National Guard’s mission and above all in the selfless service of our Soldiers, Airmen, federal and state civilian employees and our volunteers, who represent the best of our great state.”

Birckhead, who is also deputy commandant for reserve affairs at the U.S. Army War College, led 14,000 National Guard troops from across the nation providing security for the Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol after the attacks of Jan. 6, 2021.

Birckhead graduated magna cum laude from Hampton University on an Army ROTC scholarship. Her undergraduate degree is in political science.

She also holds two master’s degrees: one in general administration from the University of Maryland University College and one in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

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Birckhead currently serves as the commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, a position she has held since May 2018. She is responsible for the combat readiness of approximately 4,600 soldiers and 45 installations, while maintaining

Shortly afterwards, she was appointed as the governor’s lead for Maryland’s Vaccine Equity Task Force, which was responsible for the distribution of the Covid19 vaccine to underserved and hard-to-reach communities statewide.

In her civilian career, Birckhead is a senior advisor in the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs,

Birckhead’s military decorations are the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, NATO Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

As the newly appointed commander of the Maryland National Guard, she will be the only Black woman currently leading a state mili-