# Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs

The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for maintaining Wisconsin's armed military force and responding to state or national emergencies. The department oversees the Wisconsin Army National Guard, the Wisconsin Air National Guard, Wisconsin Emergency Management, and, when organized, the Wisconsin State Defense Force.
The department headquarters are located at 2400 Wright Street, in Madison, on the grounds of the Dane County Regional Airport. The commander-in-chief of the department is the Governor of Wisconsin, but the department is overseen by an adjutant general appointed by the governor. The current commander-in-chief is Tony Evers, the current interim adjutant general is Brigadier General David W. May.

## History

The Department of Military Affairs was created by the 1967 Wisconsin government reorganization act, sponsored by governor Warren P. Knowles (1967 Wisconsin Act 75). At the time, the agency was established to unify command of National Guard and the state Armory Board. In 1989, the division of Emergency Management (also known as Wisconsin Emergency Management) was transferred to the Department of Military Affairs from the Department of Administration.

## Adjutant generals of Wisconsin

| # | General | Took office | Left office | Notes |
| 1 | William Rudolph Smith | July 20, 1839 | April 1, 1851 | Appointed by Henry Dodge. Reappointed by James Duane Doty, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Henry Dodge. Reappointed by Nelson Dewey. |
| 2 | William A. Barstow | April 1, 1851 | April 1, 1852 | Appointed by Nelson Dewey. |
| 3 | William L. Utley | April 1, 1852 | April 1, 1854 | Appointed by Leonard J. Farwell. |
| 4 | John McManman | April 1, 1854 | April 1, 1856 | Appointed by William A. Barstow. |
| 5 | Amasa Cobb | April 1, 1856 | April 1, 1860 | Appointed by Coles Bashford. |
| 6 | James A. Swain | April 1, 1860 | April 25, 1861 | Appointed by Alexander Randall. Resigned to accept commission in Union Army. |
| 7 | William L. Utley | April 25, 1861 | January 7, 1862 | Appointed by Alexander Randall. Resigned to accept commission as colonel of the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. |
| 8 | Augustus Gaylord | January 7, 1862 | April 30, 1866 | Appointed by Louis P. Harvey. |
| 9 | James Kerr Proudfit | April 30, 1866 | March 28, 1868 | Appointed by Lucius Fairchild. |
| 10 | Edwin E. Bryant | March 28, 1868 | January 2, 1872 | Appointed by Lucius Fairchild. |
| 11 | Robert Monteith | January 2, 1872 | April 11, 1874 | Appointed by Cadwallader C. Washburn. |
| 12 | Alfred C. Parkinson | April 11, 1874 | January 11, 1876 | Appointed by William Robert Taylor. |
| 13 | George A. Hannaford | January 11, 1876 | May 9, 1876 | Appointed by Harrison Ludington. |
| 14 | Edwin E. Bryant | May 9, 1876 | January 2, 1882 | Appointed by Harrison Ludington. Reappointed by William E. Smith. |
| 15 | Chandler P. Chapman | January 2, 1882 | January 7, 1889 | Appointed by Jeremiah M. Rusk. |
| 16 | George W. Burchard | January 7, 1889 | January 5, 1891 | Appointed by William D. Hoard. |
| 17 | Joseph Doe | January 5, 1891 | December 15, 1893 | Appointed by George Wilbur Peck. |
| 18 | Otto H. Falk | December 15, 1893 | January 7, 1895 | Appointed by George Wilbur Peck. |
| 19 | Charles King | January 7, 1895 | January 4, 1897 | Appointed by William H. Upham. |
| 20 | Charles R. Boardman | January 4, 1897 | September 30, 1913 | Appointed by Edward Scofield. Reappointed by Robert M. La Follette. Reappointed by James O. Davidson. Reappointed by Francis E. McGovern. |
| 21 | Orlando Holway | October 1, 1913 | February 3, 1923 | Appointed by Francis E. McGovern. Reappointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. Reappointed by John J. Blaine. Died in office. |
| - | John G. Salsman | February 3, 1923 | June 1, 1923 | Acting adjutant general. |
| 22 | Ralph M. Immell | June 1, 1923 | May 11, 1946 | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Took leave from office to serve overseas in World War II. |
| - | Alvin A. Kuechenmeister | October 10, 1942 | September 25, 1946 | Acting adjutant general while Immell was overseas. |
| 23 | John F. Mullen | September 25, 1946 | July 31, 1950 | Appointed by Walter Samuel Goodland. |
| - | George Sherman | July 31, 1950 | October 2, 1950 | Acting adjutant general. |
| 24 | Ralph J. Olson | October 2, 1950 | January 29, 1969 | Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm. Died in a plane crash at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. |
| 25 | James Jay Lison Jr. | January 29, 1969 | February 14, 1977 | Acting adjutant general until February 5, 1969. Appointed by Warren P. Knowles. Resigned. |
| 26 | Hugh Simonson | February 14, 1977 | April 24, 1979 | Appointed by Patrick Lucey. |
| 27 | Raymond Matera | April 24, 1979 | December 21, 1989 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus. |
| 28 | Jerald D. Slack | December 21, 1989 | January 12, 1996 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. |
| 29 | Jerome J. Berard | January 12, 1996 | August 8, 1997 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. |
| 30 | James G. Blaney | August 8, 1997 | August 9, 2002 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. |
| 31 | Albert H. Wilkening | August 9, 2002 | August 3, 2007 | Appointed by Scott McCallum. |
| 32 | Donald P. Dunbar | August 3, 2007 | December 31, 2019 | Appointed by Jim Doyle. Reappointed by Scott Walker. |
| - | Gary L. Ebben | December 31, 2019 | February 24, 2020 | Acting adjutant general |
| 33 | Paul E. Knapp | February 24, 2020 | June 6, 2024 | Appointed by Tony Evers. |
| - | David W. May | June 6, 2024 | Current | Acting adjutant general. |