Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead

By Amy TurnerOctober 5, 2023

2023 Hall of Fame Inductee

Hampton University (1991)

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Maj. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead was born in Maryland and attended Hampton University. She earned her Bachelor of Art in Political Science and commissioned into the Maryland Army National Guard in 1991.

She previously served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Maryland National Guard. Her command assignments include the 70th Regiment – Regional Training Institute, Aberdeen, Maryland, the 581st Troop Command Battalion, Hagerstown, Maryland; the Soldier Readiness Battalion, Reisterstown, Maryland and B Company, 229th Main Support Battalion, 29th Infantry Division, Reisterstown, Maryland.

Birckhead mobilized under OEF/OIF, serving as the Tiger Team Leader and Designated Military Officer for the Office of Administrative Review for the Detention of Enemy Combatants. In 2011, Birckhead deployed as the Deputy, Current Operations, Security Partnering, and International Security Assistance Force, Kabul, Afghanistan.

She currently serves as The Adjutant General, Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland and is dual-hatted as the Deputy Commanding General-Reserve Affairs of the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Her military education includes the Chemical Officer Basic Course, the Adjutant General Officer Advanced Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College where she earned a Master’s in Strategic Studies.

Birckhead's military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, NATO Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

In her civilian capacity, Ms. Birckhead is a Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

She began her civilian career in Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Senate. Her subsequent civilian career positions included State Equal Employment Opportunity Manager, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Security Service, and Deputy Chief of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at the Office of Personnel Management, joining the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as the Director of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity for the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2010.

About the Army ROTC Hall of Fame

The ROTC Hall of Fame was established in 2016 as part of the ROTC Centennial celebration. The first class (2016) inducted 326 former ROTC Cadets who had distinguished themselves in their military or civilian career.

The Hall of Fame honors graduates of the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps who have distinguished themselves in military or civilian pursuits. It provides a prestigious and tangible means of recognizing and honoring Army ROTC Alumni who have made lasting, significant contributions to the Nation, the Army and the history and traditions of the Army ROTC Program.

Read more about the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees.