BRIGADIER GENERAL JOSEPH F. MORRISSEY, JR
Brig. Gen. Joseph F. Morrissey Jr is the is the Assistant Adjutant General for Air, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, Massachusetts. He is the principal advisor to The Adjutant General (TAG), Air Component Commander, and Land Component Commander in the administration, coordination, planning, development, and execution of all Air National Guard and National Guard Joint Staff programs. General Morrissey ensures the preparation of the 9,000 soldiers and airmen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for contingency operations in both federal and state emergencies.
General Morrissey received his engineering degree from the Unversity of Massaschusetts, and his commission from the ANG’s Academy of Military Science in June of 1995 while assigned to the 265th Combat Communication Squadron (CBCS) in South Portland, Maine. In 1997, he was transferred to the 267th CBCS to be the Squadron Engineer. As a member of the 267th/253rd, he was activated five times. Once for Operation ALLIED FORCE (OAF) Kosovo, twice for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and twice for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF). During OAF, General Morrissey taught the TDC System Class to 175 Active Duty, Guard and Reserve personnel. This provided senior leaders and engineers with a top level system view of the TDC suite of equipment. In February of 2002, he served seven months, in direct support of OEF, as a tactical engineer and managed a one-million-dollar communication upgrade for the 321st Expeditionary Communication Flight on Masirah Island Air Base, Oman. In January of 2003, General Morrissey was activated in response to OIF, serving four months overseas as the tactical engineer in support of the 387th Expeditionary Fighter Group. He took Command of the 267th CBCS in October of 2005. During his command, the 267th CBCS was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and received the Lt Gen Harold W. Grant Award for being the number one communication squadron in the ANG. As part of Air Expeditionary Forces 9/10 in September of 2007, General Morrissey served as the 506th Expeditionary Communication Squadron Commander at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq. At Kirkuk, he commanded 61 Airmen and 15 contractors in providing communication and air traffic control maintenance for this northern Iraqi base. In August of 2011, he took command of the 253rd Cyberspace Engineering Installations Group (CEIG). In May 2013, in support of OEF, General Morrissey deployed to Bagram AB, Afghanistan where he led 60 Joint Expeditionary Tasked Airmen in support of the US Army’s 160th Signal Brigade. During this time, his team completed over 110 cyber backbone installation projects across Afghanistan. In July of 2016, General Morrissey took commander of the 202nd Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Group. He was entrusted with the task of standing up two Cyber Intelligence Squadrons, a Support Squadron and the Group staff. Prior to his current position, General Morrissey was the Director of Cyberspace Operations for the MA ANG. General Morrissey is responsible for providing TAG and senior leadership guidance to ensure reliable communications and information technology infrastructure exists to support state and federal missions.
EDUCATION
1993 Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering Technology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Mass.
2000 Squadron Officer School (SOS), Maxwell Air Force Base (AFB), Ala., by correspondence
2006 Master of Science, Telecommunications, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
2007 Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2010 Air War College (AWC), Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2014 Joint Task Force Commanders Course (JCTC), Peterson Space Force Base (SFB), Colo.
2022 General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar (GFOS), Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2023 Dual Status Commander Course (DSC), Peterson Space Force Base (SFB), Colo.
2023 Senior Leader Orientation Course (SLOC), Joint Base (JB) Andrews, Md.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1981 - September 1985, Navigational Aid (NAVAIDS) Technician, 1916th Communications Squadron, Pease Air Force Base (AFB), N.H.
2. April 1987 - January 1989, NAVAIDS Technician, 253rd Combat Communication Group (CCGP), Wellesley Air Nation Guard Station (ANGS), Mass.
3. January 1989 - May 1995, Non-Commission Office In Charge (NCOIC) NAVAIDS Section, 265th Combat Communications Squadron (CBCS) Squadron, South Portland ANGS, Maine
4. June 1995 - February 1996, Engineer Officer, 265th CBCS, South Portland ANGS, Maine
5. February 1996 - April 1997, Communication Officer, 253rd CCGP, Otis Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Mass.
6. April 1997 - February 2002, September 2002, Tactical Engineer, 321 Expeditionary Communication Flight on Masirah Island Air Base (AB), Oman) (January 2003-May 2003, Tactical Engineer, 387th Expeditionary Fighter Group, Classified Location)
7. October 2005 - January 2010, Squadron Commander, 267th CBCS, Otis ANGB, Mass. (September 2007-January 2008, Squadron Commander, 506th Expeditionary Communication Squadron, Kirkuk Regional AB, Iraq)
8. January 2010 - May 2010, Director of Logistics/Resources, 253rd CCGP, Otis ANGB, Mass.
9. May 2010 - August 2011, Deputy Group Commander, 253rd CCGP, Otis ANGB, Mass.
10. August 2011 - July 2016, Group Commander, 253rd Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group, Otis ANGB, Mass. (April 2013-November 2013, EI Joint Expeditionary Tasked Airmen OIC, Bagram AB, Afghanistan)
11. July 2016 - February 2018, Group Commander, 202nd Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Group, Otis ANGB, Mass.
12. February 2018 - May 2021, Director of Cyberspace Operations (A6), Joint Force Headquarters MA, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
13. December 2022 - November 2023, Assistant Adjutant General, Milford, MA
14. December 2023 - Present, Chief of Staff, JFHQ MA ANG, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 15, 1995
First Lieutenant June 15, 1997
Captain June 15, 1999
Major June 15, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel June 15, 2007
Colonel May 26, 2011
Brigadier General Dec. 3, 2022
(Current as of February 2024)