An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Jan. 3, 2012

Adjutant general: "This is an historic moment for the National Guard"

By Air National Guard Master Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa Florida National Guard

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - Florida National Guardsman and chief of the National Guard Bureau Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley will officially join the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

President Barack Obama signed a bill into law on Dec. 31 that expands the membership of the senior military advisory body to include the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Under the new law, McKinley, 59, will serve as a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which traditionally has included a chairman and vice-chairman and heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

"The real import of this legislation is to institutionalize the position of the chief of the National Guard Bureau," McKinley said during a Dec. 19 interview.

He noted that variables such as personalities won"t deter future National Guard Bureau chiefs from having the "opportunity to give voice to the 460,000 members" of the National Guard.

"It will mean at the highest levels I can represent the adjutants general better than I am doing today," he said. "Future chiefs will have the opportunity to brief not only the chairman (of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), but the secretary of defense and the president on matters of domestic importance, especially during natural disasters like hurricanes."

According to adjutant general of Florida, Air Force Maj. Gen. Emmett R. Titshaw Jr., the move will improve coordination between the governors, adjutants general and federal authorities during domestic emergencies.

"The unique status of our National Guard " whether in federal or domestic operations " necessitates our chief has a seat with the traditional military services on our nation's highest military advisory council," Titshaw said.

Titshaw added that since joining the Florida Air National Guard as a T-33 Shooting Star and F-106 Delta Dart alert pilot in 1980, McKinley has steadily moved through increasing levels of responsibility and has championed the roles of Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen at every level.

"Florida is proud to call Gen. McKinley one of our own," Titshaw added. "This is an historic moment for the National Guard."

Both chambers of Congress approved the 2012 Defense Authorization Bill in early December, which included major provisions of "The National Guard Empowerment and State-National Defense Integration Act" " an act which called for the elevation of the chief of the National Guard Bureau to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In addition, the final defense bill also includes other key provisions of the "Empowerment Act" including: re-establishing the position of the vice chief of the National Guard Bureau at the three-star level; increasing the number of National Guard general officers considered for senior positions at U.S. Northern Command; helping to clarify the disaster response command relationship among the Guard and the U.S. military commands; authorizing the National Guard State Partnership Program and requiring reports by the Department of Defense and the Government Accountability Office on the cost of National Guard and Reserve units compared to similar active component units."

"This truly is a significant and historic day for the Guard and for all the Guard does for our nation," Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who helped author the Act, said in a Dec. 15 press release. "Many people have asked why this change is so important to make, and why now."Our Guard has been bravely serving in near-constant rotation with active duty forces overseas for the last decade."At the same time, Guard troops have been the military first responders here at home." Yet the Pentagon has not fully caught up with the institutional changes that must accompany those operational changes."

Gen. McKinley is a native of Jacksonville, Fla., who joined the U.S. Air Force in 1974. In November 1980 he became a member of the Florida Air National Guard's 125th Fighter Interceptor Group in Jacksonville, and progressed through the ranks. He served in key positions including: commander of the 125th Fighter Wing in 1991; commander of Southeast Air Defense Sector in 1996; deputy director of the Air National Guard in 1998 and director of the Air National Guard in 2006.

In November 2008, Gen. McKinley was sworn in and promoted as the first four-star general to lead the National Guard.

As chief, McKinley is the senior uniformed National Guard officer responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all policies, programs and plans affecting more than half a million Army and Air National Guard personnel.

Appointed by the president, he serves as principal adviser to the secretary of defense through the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on National Guard matters.

He is also the principal adviser to the secretary and chief of Staff of the Army, and the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force on all National Guard issues.

As National Guard Bureau chief, he serves as the department's official channel of communication with the governors and adjutants general.

 

 

Related Articles
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Searcy, the Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army National Guard, addresses attendees of a warrant officer caucus session during the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) conference in Milwaukee, August 24, 2025. The 147th NGAUS General Conference and Exhibition – which is held annually to connect delegates from all 54 states and territories to discuss the future of the National Guard – took place August 21-25 and featured various events and social gatherings throughout Milwaukee to showcase Wisconsin’s rich history and heritage.
Searcy Leaves Legacy of Advocacy for Warrant Officers in Army Guard
By Lt. Col. Carla Raisler, | Aug. 28, 2025
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Searcy, the eighth command chief warrant officer of the Army National Guard, will retire later this year after more than three decades of service.Searcy marked the occasion this...