Air National Guard Gen. Joseph Lengyel, former vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, has officially taken the role of bureau chief and succeeded retiring U.S. Army Gen. Frank Grass in a change-of-responsibility ceremony held at the Pentagon, DoD News reported Thursday.
Defense Department Secretary Ashton Carter also promoted Lengyel to the rank of general as part of the National Guard leadership appointment, Terri Moon Cronk writes.
“We know that General Lengyel will lead this force with certainty, clarity and the full confidence and trust of myself and the president,” Carter said.
“The post-9/11 environment has proven the Guard is an indispensable component of the Total Force, in day-to-day activities and large-scale operations, in planning and execution, and in conventional conflicts and novel threats,” he added.
Lengyel is a former chief of the office of military cooperation and defense attache for U.S. Central Command in Cairo, Egypt.
He started his military career as an F-16 instructor pilot and weapons officer and has since logged more than 3,000 flight hours as a command pilot for the F-16, T-37 and T-28 planes.
President Barack Obama nominated Lengyel for the National Guard Bureau chief position in April.
