State adjutant general Each state in the United States has a senior military officer – the state adjutant general – who is " de facto " commander of a state ' s military forces , including the National Guard , the naval militia , and any state defense force s . This officer is known as TAG ( The Adjutant General ) , and is subordinated to the chief executive . Source of appointment . In 48 states , Puerto Rico , Guam , and the United States Virgin Islands , the adjutant general is appointed by the Governor . The exceptions are Vermont , where the adjutant general is appointed by the legislature , South Carolina , where they are elected by the voters , and the District of Columbia , where a commanding general is appointed by the President of the United States of America . Responsibilities . Each adjutant general shares a common responsibility for the state ’ s National Guard plus a unique set of other responsibilities defined by the state ’ s constitution , state statutes , and other state - level directives . In addition to their state responsibilities , each TAG is responsible to the federal government for the use and care of federal assets under the state ' s control . The National Guard Bureau ( NGB ) in the Department of Defense provides a centralized administrative , funding , and procurement process to support the states ' military departments . The commander of the NGB also provides input as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on national military activities as they relate to the National Guard . The 54 adjutants general collectively form the Adjutants General Association of the United States ( AGAUS ) which strives to enhance both state and national military security . A professional military guard organization , the National Guard Association of the United States serves to lobby both Congress and the Executive branch about common needs of the Guard as a whole and also provide support to members of the National Guard . National Guard . Each adjutant general commands his state ’ s Army and Air National Guard units which are not on federal active duty . When a National Guard unit is federalized it is moved from state command to the Department of Defense and placed under an Army or Air Force command . State defense forces . Twenty - three adjutants general have responsibility for military land forces that comprise state level militias under the command of the various governors and generally have state support missions . Seven of these in addition to Illinois also have a naval militia division . Two adjutants general , Puerto Rico and Texas , are also responsible for an air support component . Emergency management agencies . Some adjutant generals are responsible for oversight of the state ’ s emergency management organization . These groups are non - military organizations but have a close working relationship with the state ’ s National Guard and any state defense forces . They are the state level agency that works directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in preparing for , responding to , and recovering from disasters . Homeland security . Some states have assigned their adjutant general the responsibility for overseeing homeland security . In other states this responsibility may be assigned to the state ’ s law enforcement agency instead . Veteran ’ s affairs . Some states place their veteran ’ s affairs organization in the state ’ s military department under the oversight of the state adjutant general . Other states have an independent veteran ' s affairs department . List of adjutants general . Each adjutant general is the senior officer in the state ' s military structure . Many hold federal rank as active duty general officers , but others may for a variety of reasons , including mandatory federal military retirement age , only hold general officer rank from their state .