RG 009. Office of the Adjutant General

The Adjutant General of the state of Rhode Island is appointed by the Governor and serves at the will of the Governor. The Adjutant General assumes three distinct roles: The Adjutant General of the state of Rhode Island, The Commanding General of the Rhode Island National Guard, and the Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. The Adjutant General is a member of the State Cabinet who is responsible for providing the overall leadership and tactical coordination for security preparedness and emergency response systems in the state. He is the strategic leader and Chief Executive Officer to the Governor for the agencies assigned and as the representative for the State to the lead Federal coordinating agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Guard Bureau, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, and the United States Coast Guard. Additionally, he is responsible as the lead coordinating agency within the scope of emergency preparedness for collaboration with the first response agencies and municipalities within the state, including law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services and the military. He is responsible to support those agencies to ensure they are well equipped, trained, and prepared. The Adjutant General is the strategic leader of the State military forces. The Adjutant General directs the establishment, operation, organization, and maintenance of the military forces of the state, which are comprised of the Rhode Island Army and Air National Guard, and the State Historic Militia. The Adjutant General’s primary responsibility is to ensure that Soldiers and Airmen are well equipped, well trained, and well lead such that they can perform their federal and state military duties. The Adjutant General is responsible for mission readiness and training of Army and Air National Guard forces to conduct and perform their respective Federal missions, which includes war fighting and support to local agencies for domestic emergencies. Major responsibilities of the Adjutant General, in his capacity as the Commanding General of the Rhode Island National Guard, include: Mobilization, Force Structure, Equipment Modernization, Training Management, Facility Management, Military Construction, Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer Career Management, Personnel Administration, Family Assistance Programs, Special Programs, Military Property and Army/Air National Guard Operations. The Adjutant General maintains close association and communication with the National Guard Bureau, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, Northern Command, Air Mobility Command, First Army, Fifth Army, First Air Force, Third Air Force, Cyber Command, and Transportation Command. Associations and memberships may include all veteran’s organizations, as well as professional military organizations. Most notably he maintains active participation in the Adjutant General Association of the United States through the National Guard Association of the United States. The Adjutant General oversees the Governor's plan for Homeland Security through the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) by planning and implementing all state preparedness programs. Primary areas of responsibility include grant funding for state and local disbursement, state wide interoperability, intelligence fusion center, and plans and response teams. RIEMA is responsible for analyzing and formulating tactical state response plans to maximize the effectiveness of security systems to respond to both natural and terrorism-based state emergencies. Additionally, the Adjutant General is the primary representative of the State for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Other agencies and organizations to which the Adjutant General is the primary representative are: the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), the Governor’s Association Homeland Security Committee, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and the Northeast States Emergency Consortium (NESEC).