A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or reserve officer training corps (ROTC), or officer candidate school (OCS) or officer training school (OTS), after receiving a post-secondary degree.
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, or "XO", is the second-in-command, reporting to the commanding officer. The XO is typically responsible for the management of day-to-day activities, freeing the commander to concentrate on strategy and planning the unit's next move.
A chief master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries.
An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer.
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving in a duty or position of great responsibility. The Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6, 1960 and was first awarded in 1965. Prior to the creation of the Distinguished Service Medal in 1960, United States Air Force airmen were awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
A military staff or general staff is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military unit in their command and control role through planning, analysis, and information gathering, as well as by relaying, coordinating, and supervising the execution of their plans and orders, especially in case of multiple simultaneous and rapidly changing complex operations. They are organised into functional groups such as administration, logistics, operations, intelligence, training, etc. They provide multi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer, subordinate military units and other stakeholders. A centralised general staff results in tighter top-down control but requires larger staff at headquarters (HQ) and reduces accuracy of orientation of field operations, whereas a decentralised general staff results in enhanced situational focus, personal initiative, speed of localised action, OODA loop, and improved accuracy of orientation.
In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest officer grade of O‑1. This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks, equivalent to the U.S. Armed Forces grades of E‑8 and E‑9.
The Oklahoma Military Department is an agency of the state of Oklahoma that serves as the administrative agency for all matters concerning the Oklahoma National Guard. Under the authority and direction of the Governor of Oklahoma as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsible for planning, establishing, and enforcing rules and procedures governing the administration, supply, and training of the Oklahoma National Guard, when not in the active service of the United States, and the Oklahoma State Guard. The Oklahoma Unorganized Militia, those citizens of the United States between 17-70 in Oklahoma, only exists in statute, and is not a "state military force," according to Oklahoma Code. The Department also maintains all state-owned, licensed or leased facilities, including Camp Gruber.
The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC) is the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) position overall in the United States Armed Forces. The SEAC is appointed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve as a spokesperson to address the issues of enlisted personnel to the highest positions in the Department of Defense. As such, the SEAC is the primary enlisted advisor to the chairman, and serves at the pleasure of the secretary of defense. The SEAC's exact duties vary, depending on the chairman, though the SEAC generally devotes much of their time traveling throughout the Department of Defense, to observe training and communicating to service members and their families. The SEAC's normal term of assignment runs concurrently with the chairman, but an incumbent may be reappointed to serve longer. The first member to hold this post was William Gainey. The current SEAC is Troy E. Black, USMC who assumed the duties on 3 November 2023.
The Adjutant General of Kansas is the highest-ranking military official in the State of Kansas and is subordinate to the Governor of Kansas. The Adjutant General is a member of the Governor's Cabinet and advises the Governor on military and emergency management matters. The Adjutant General runs the day-to-day administration of the Kansas Adjutant General's Department, including the Kansas National Guard.
Myles Lynn Deering is a retired Army National Guard major general who served as the 19th adjutant general of Oklahoma. General Deering was appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry in 2009 following the promotion of Harry M. Wyatt III to the position of director, Air National Guard. On December 10, 2010, Governor-elect Mary Fallin announced that she would retain General Deering in his position as adjutant general.
Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOFF-AF) is the senior Warrant Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is a singular appointment, being it is only held by one person at any time. The special insignia for the WOFF-AF is the Australian Coat of Arms encircled by a wreath of Australian native flora. The current Warrant Officer of the Air Force is Ralph Clifton.
Major General Steven A. Cray was the Adjutant General of Vermont. In this post he served as the senior uniformed officer in the state, and was responsible for the organization, training and equipping of the 4,000 members of the Vermont Army and Air National Guard. As adjutant general, he also served as inspector general, quartermaster general and head of the State Military Department, including the Vermont State Guard and Veterans Affairs.
Timothy James Kadavy is a retired United States Army lieutenant general, who served as the 20th director of the Army National Guard from March 27, 2015, to March 25, 2019. He previously served as the special assistant to the vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, the adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, deputy director of the Army National Guard, and as the commander of Combined Joint Inter Agency Task Force-Afghanistan, which was part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force mission in that country. Kadavy was nominated by the President to become the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau with the rank of lieutenant general, on March 5, 2019. The Senate returned his nomination to the president without action on January 3, 2020. After leaving his assignment as the director of the Army National Guard, he served as a two-star special assistant to the chief of the National Guard Bureau from May 23, 2019, until his retirement on August 3, 2020. He retired from the Army with the rank of lieutenant general after over 36 years of service.
Judd Henry Lyons is a retired Army National Guard officer. After retiring from the military the rank of major general, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service on August 7, 2017. Since 2018, he has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. In this role, he is the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in support of the ASD's role of providing overall supervision of manpower and reserve affairs for the Department of Defense. He is responsible for both the integration of reserve affairs across the United States Department of Defense and strategic engagement on all Reserve Component matters.
Timothy Paschal Williams is a retired United States Army major general, and a former Adjutant General of Virginia. As adjutant general, he commanded the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard, and the Virginia Defense Force. Williams is the co-author of, Let’s Go! The History of the 29th Infantry Division 1917-2001.
John S. Tuohy is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force, last serving as the Assistant Adjutant General and Commander of the Washington Air National Guard, in which capacity he commanded 34 units and the 2,100 personnel attached to those units, while managing a budget of $50,000,000. General Tuohy was responsible to the Adjutant General of Washington, Major General Bret D. Daugherty, "to prepare, implement and administer plans, policies and programs to effectively organize, staff, equip and train units for state and federal mobilization." Additionally, General Tuohy oversaw the Washington Youth Academy, a division of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program in Bremerton, Washington, which provides quasi-military training and mentoring programs for 300 at-risk youths each year. Prior to his last assignment, then-Colonel Tuohy served as the Washington National Guard's Director of United States Property and Fiscal Office, in which capacity he was primarily responsible for receiving and accounting for all funds and property - in excess of $1,300,000,000 - of the United States in the possession of the Washington National Guard and ensuring that Federal funds were "obligated and expended in conformance with applicable statutes and regulations."
Linda L. Singh is a retired major general of the Maryland Army National Guard.
Major General Francis J. Evon Jr. is the Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard. He is responsible to the Governor and the Chief, National Guard Bureau, for providing operationally trained, equipped and mission-ready forces to support both U.S. mobilization requirements and state emergency operations to include developing and coordinating counter terrorism and domestic preparedness contingencies for the State of Connecticut. He implements policies, programs, and plans as the direct link to all state assigned National Guard resources, providing information and evaluation, issue resolution and action recommendations. General Evon began his military career in 1985 as an enlisted Anti-Tank Crewman in the Combat Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 102nd Infantry of the Connecticut Army National Guard. He was commissioned through the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in 1989. Major General Evon has held command leadership positions at the company, battalion, and brigade levels. He served as commander of the 1st Battalion, 102d Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from November 2009 to November 2010. Prior to his current assignment, General Evon served as the assistant adjutant general for the Connecticut Army National Guard. His promotion to major general was confirmed at the federal level by the U.S. Senate on May 23, 2019.
Aaron R. Dean II is a retired United States Army brigadier general (BG) and the former adjutant general (TAG) of the District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG). As the TAG for the DCNG, Dean was responsible for providing personnel support to both Army and Air National Guard components. Dean acted as the auxiliary support to the commanding general of the DCNG, while concurrently carrying out many responsibilities associated with the District of Columbia's constitution and directives. In addition to this, he was responsible for managing the assets of the entire DCNG.
