Governor O'Malley Names James A. Adkins as Next Adjutant General for State of Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 18, 2008) – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of Brigadier General James A. Adkins as Adjutant General for the State of Maryland. Brigadier General Adkins will replace retiring Major General Bruce F. Tuxill. He will oversee the Maryland Military Department which includes the Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland Air National Guard, Maryland Emergency Management Agency and Maryland Defense Force.
“I am honored to appoint Brigadier General Adkins as Adjutant General to the State of Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “Under his leadership, the Department of Veterans Affairs has reached out to support the many veterans returning from abroad and their families. In his expanded role as Adjutant General, he will oversee mobilization and prepare Maryland’s Military Department for war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and national and state emergencies. Brigadier General Adkins will provide leadership and support to the over nine thousand men and women – and their families – who make up the Maryland Military Department.”
“I also want to thank General Tuxill for his years of service to the Citizens of Maryland and our nation,” the Governor said, adding that General Tuxill has overseen the largest overseas deployment of Maryland Army National Guardsmen since World War II. “I thank him for his leadership during our transition and wish him well in his retirement.”
General Tuxill is scheduled to retire on June 1, 2008 and a formal ceremony will be held on June 7, 2008 to formally install General Adkins as the new adjutant general. General Adkins’ appointment must be approved by the Maryland State Senate.
Brigadier General James A. Adkins was sworn in as Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Maryland by Governor Martin O’Malley on May 9, 2007. In this position he oversees the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs and serves in the Governor’s Cabinet as the state’s key advisor for veteran issues. Previous assignments in the Department of Veterans Affairs include Director of the Cemetery and Memorial Programs and Deputy Secretary.
General Adkins was born in Cambridge and grew up in Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Prior to entering the US Army, he served two years with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
“Jim Adkins has a long and distinguished military career and is an excellent person to lead the Maryland National Guard,” said Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. “I am confident he will meet and exceed the high expectations the O'Malley-Brown Administration has for him.”
During his military career, Adkins graduated from the Defense Language Institute’s Russian Language Program in Monterey, California and served in intelligence, infantry and cavalry assignments in the United States and abroad. His military assignments included two tours in military support to civil authorities where he was responsible for counter-drug and emergency management operations. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he assisted the former Soviet Republic of Estonia in its transition to democracy as a coordinator for the US European Command's Partnership for Peace Program. General Adkins held numerous command and staff assignments in the Maryland Army National Guard and also had tours as the Maryland Military Department's Director of Installations, Chief of Staff and Assistant Adjutant General for State Operations with responsibility for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. He was also a member of the US Attorney's Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Committee.
General Adkins served in both the enlisted and officer ranks. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Maryland Distinguished Service Cross and the Order of the White Cross from the Republic of Estonia.
In addition to Russian language training, his military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Fort Benning, Georgia, the US Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and the US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of the State of New York and a Master’s degree from Washington College.
General Adkins is a member of numerous organizations including the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS, US Army War College Alumni Association, 2nd Armored Division Association, 29th Infantry Division Association, Military Intelligence Corps Association and the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association. He and his wife, the former Mary Anne Luce of Crisfield, reside in Cambridge.
Prior to his position as the adjutant general for the state of Maryland, Major General Bruce F. Tuxill was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1968. During his tenure as the 175th Fighter Group commander, the unit was the first to introduce the A-10 aircraft and its capabilities into the southern region in support of Exercise CORONET COVE in Panama in February 1985; GUNSMOKE ’91 champions; and in 1993 the first Air National Guard unit to receive an operational readiness inspection during a Joint Chiefs of Staff exercise.
General Tuxill served as the assistant adjutant general for air, Headquarters, Maryland Air National Guard and as the Air National Guard assistant to the commander, United States Air Forces, Europe (USAFE). As the Air National Guard assistant, he served as the advisor on Air National Guard forces trained to support USAFE after mobilization. He assisted the USAFE commander in the development of plans for peacetime training missions to enhance Air National Guard capability for wartime employment.
