Michael A. Calhoun (born 1954) is a retired

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who served as the Adjutant General of Florida. General Calhoun was appointed by

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

on March 29, 2015. As Adjutant General, General Calhoun was the highest-ranking member of the

Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and stat ...

. He was responsible for managing the affairs of the Florida Military Department and for advising the Governor, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard. Additionally, Governor Scott appointed General Calhoun to serve as the Secretary of the Military in the Governor's Cabinet.

Military career

Following graduation from Florida A&M University, General Calhoun enlisted as a Private in the Florida Army National Guard in August 1977. After a six-year break in service, he received a direct commission and appointment to 1st Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps on July 22, 1989. His follow-on assignments include Chief of Pharmacy Services, 131st Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH); Executive Officer, 131st MASH; Logistics Officer, 50th Area Support Group (ASG); Director, Host Nations Support, 50th ASG and Director, Support Operations, 50th ASG. General Calhoun deployed with the 50th ASG in 2003 as Director of Host Nations Support during

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and served as Deputy Commander, Task Force (FL) in Mississippi during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. General Calhoun's commands include: Company A, 161st Area Support Medical Battalion; the 856th Quartermaster Battalion (Water); the 53rd Infantry Brigade Special Troops Battalion; the 211th Regiment, Regional Training Institute (RTI-FL); the 50th ASG and the 83rd Troop Command. General Calhoun is a graduate of the Combat Casualty Care Course; the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officer Basic and Advance Courses; AMEDD Pharmacy Specialty Orientation Course; the Support Operations Course; Command and General Staff Services School; Command and General Staff College; Quartermaster Officer Basic and Advance Courses; CSS Pre-Command Course; Air Defense Artillery Officer Course; Joint Task Force Commanders Course; the Dual Status Commander Program; the Army Strategic Leaders Development Program-B; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Level IV Antiterrorism Executive Training; the DSCA Executive Seminar; and the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar. In addition to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy from Florida A&M University, General Calhoun holds a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. In the years since his enlistment in the Army as a private in 1977, his duties have ranged from providing first aid to Cubans arriving in Florida during the 1980

Mariel boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and En ...

, to spending a year deployed with a combat support unit in Kuwait after the American

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

. General Calhoun is a recipient of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, the

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includi ...

, the Florida Cross, the Florida Distinguished Service Medal, the Alabama Commendation Medal, and the Mississippi State Emergency Medal. He was the Army National Guard recipient of the Department of Defense African American History Month Recognition Award for 2008, for his contributions to the

Global War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, and a recipient of the Ancient

Order of Saint Barbara The Order of Saint Barbara is a military honor society of the US for both the US Army and the US Marine Corps Artillery, including Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery. The award is named for Saint Barbara, the patron saint of artillerymen. ...

Scott administration

On March 29, 2015,

appointed General Calhoun to become the Adjutant General of Florida. In that position, MG Calhoun was responsible for the operations and has command over all aspects of the Florida Army and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

. In April 2019, Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...

named Florida Air National Guard MG

James O. Eifert James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

to replace the retiring MG Calhoun.

Personal life

MG Calhoun received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

. He also received a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calhoun, Michael A. 1954 births Living people National Guard (United States) generals United States Army generals Florida A&M University alumni People from Riviera Beach, Florida Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) United States Army War College alumni