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Janeen L. Birckhead

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Janeen L. Birckhead
Service/branchU.S. Army
Years of service1991–present
Rank Major general
CommandsMaryland Military Department
Alma materHampton University (BA)
University of Maryland University College (MA)
United States Army War College (MSS)

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.

Career

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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]

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] Birckhead was 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.[8] In April 2023, she 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.[9]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Janeen L. Birckhead.

References

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  1. ^ "Birckhead Appointed Adjutant General By Governor; Snow Hill Alumna Becomes Nation's First Black Woman To Lead State Military In Country". News Ocean City Maryland Coast Dispatch Newspaper. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  2. ^ McNaught, Shannon Marvel (2022-02-26). "Obituary for Fannie Birckhead". The Daily Times. pp. A1. Retrieved 2023-07-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c Hine, Hunter (2023-05-04). "Snow Hill native named 31st adjutant general last month". Ocean City Today. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  4. ^ Demko, Keith (April 6, 2023). "Snow Hill native Birckhead tapped by Gov. Wes Moore to lead Maryland's military". Salisbury Daily Times. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  5. ^ a b Ash, Louise (1986-08-10). "Birckhead is Miss Heartlines Finalist". The Daily Times. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "National Guard Biography". www.nationalguard.mil. Retrieved 2023-07-02.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ "Biographies - Brigadier General Janeen L. Birckhead". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  8. ^ "Brigadier General Janeen L. Birckhead". Capital Gazette. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  9. ^ "Brigadier General Janeen L. Birckhead poised to become the only Black woman leading a state military". Black Engineer. April 27, 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
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