Janeen L. Birckhead is a U.S. military officer serving as the

adjutant general of Maryland The Adjutant General of Maryland is the head military official of the Maryland National Guard, the Maryland Defense Force, and any other military or paramilitary units that may be maintained by the State of Maryland. The adjutant general is r ...

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

Birckhead was born to Fannie Mae (née Ward) and Lewis Birckhead. 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. Birckhead was raised in Snow Hill, Maryland where she attended Snow Hill Elementary, Middle, and High School. Starting at the age of 14, she began working at a

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

in Ocean City, Maryland during the summers. She was on the basketball cheerleading squad at her high school and was a member of its

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

club. In 1991, she completed a B.A. in political science at

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

where she was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. 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. Birckhead joined the United States Army as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on May 12, 1991. From June to November that year, she attended chemical school at Fort McClellan. She then served as a chemical officer in the 419th Chemical Detachment in Washington, D.C. until May 1993. She was then transferred to 29th Rear Area Operations Center until August 1995. From 1995 to 1996, she was the aide-de-camp to James F. Fretterd, the Adjutant General in Baltimore Maryland. From April 2017 to May 2018, Birckhead served as the director of legislative affairs of the Maryland National Guard. She served as the assistant adjutant general from June 2018 to April 2023. 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. Birckhead was a senior advisor in the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration in the within the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

. In March 2023, Birckhead was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. In April 2023, she was promoted to major general and named by governor

Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, investment banker, author, and television producer. He is the governor-elect of Maryland, after defeating Republican Dan Cox in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial elec ...

as the 31st

. She heads the Maryland Military Department. She is the only Black woman leading a state military.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birckhead, Janeen L Living people People from Snow Hill, Maryland Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Maryland National Guard personnel African-American United States Army personnel African-American female military personnel 21st-century African-American military personnel Hampton University alumni University of Maryland Global Campus alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army War College faculty 21st-century African-American women United States Department of the Interior officials American women civil servants Adjutants General of Maryland 20th-century African-American military personnel

Career

See also

References