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U.S. military official From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Janeen L. Birckhead is a U.S. military officer serving as the adjutant general of Maryland since April 2023. She is a major general of the Maryland Army National Guard. She was previously a senior advisor in the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration and the assistant adjutant general from June 2018 to April 2023.
Janeen L. Birckhead | |
|---|---|
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| Service | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1991–present |
| Rank |  Major general |
| Commands | Maryland Military Department |
| Alma mater | Hampton University (BA) University of Maryland University College (MA) United States Army War College (MSS) |
Birckhead was born to Fannie Mae (née Ward) and Lewis Birckhead.[1][2] Her mother, a local politician, was the first African American elected to a countywide office in Worcester County, Maryland and the first to serve as a mayor on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.[3] Birckhead was raised in Snow Hill, Maryland where she attended Snow Hill Elementary, Middle, and High School.[4][3] Starting at the age of 14, she began working at a fast-food restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland during the summers.[5] She was on the basketball cheerleading squad at her high school and was a member of its 4-H club.[5]
In 1991, she completed a B.A. in political science at Hampton University where she was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.[6] She earned a M.A. in management from the University of Maryland University College and a M.S.S. in strategic studies at the United States Army War College.[6]
Birckhead joined the United States Army as a second lieutenant on May 12, 1991.[6] From June to November that year, she attended chemical school at Fort McClellan.[6] She then served as a chemical officer in the 419th Chemical Detachment in Washington, D.C. until May 1993.[6] She was then transferred to 29th Rear Area Operations Center until August 1995.[6] From 1995 to 1996, she was the aide-de-camp to James F. Fretterd, the Adjutant General in Baltimore Maryland.[6]
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From April 2017 to May 2018, Birckhead served as the director of legislative affairs of the Maryland National Guard.[7] She served as the assistant adjutant general from June 2018 to April 2023.[6] She had a dual-hatted assignment from March 2020 to May 2023 as the deputy commanding general-reserve affairs of the United States Army War College.[6] During her tenure, Birckhead assisted the Hogan administration with addressing equity issues in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Maryland,[8] and was selected by the D.C. National Guard to be the Task Force Capitol Grounds Commander for the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden.[9][10] She was also a senior advisor in the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration in the within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.[3] In March 2023, Birckhead was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.[11]
In April 2023, Birckhead was promoted to major general and named by governor Wes Moore as the 31st adjutant general of Maryland.[6] She heads the Maryland Military Department. She is the only Black woman leading a state military.[12]
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