William E . Ingram , Jr . Lieutenant General William E . Ingram , Jr . ( born January 21 , 1948 ) is the current Director , Army National Guard . He is the 20th individual and the third three - star general to lead the Army National Guard since 1948 , when the office was established as Chief , Army Division , National Guard Bureau . In this assignment Ingram guides the formulation , development and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the Army National Guard , a force of more than 350 , 000 Citizen Soldiers in the 50 States , three Territories and the District of Columbia . Ingram assumed the position and was promoted to Lieutenant General on November 28 , 2011 , in a ceremony held at the Pentagon , which presided over by Army Chief of Staff Raymond T . Odierno and National Guard Bureau Chief Craig R . McKinley . Early Military Career . William Emmett Ingram , Jr . was born in Elizabeth City , North Carolina on January 21 , 1948 . He enlisted as an Infantryman in the North Carolina Army National Guard in 1970 and received his commission in 1972 as a Distinguished Graduate of the North Carolina Military Academy ' s Officer Candidate School . During his career , Ingram advanced through staff and command positions of increasing rank and responsibility , including Commander of 1st Battalion 119th Infantry and Commander of the 139th Support Detachment . In 1997 Ingram deployed to the Balkans as Commander of Task Force Pershing , based at Camp Sava North , Slavonski Brod , Croatia . He then commanded the 60th Troop Command in Rocky Mount , North Carolina , before returning to the Balkans in 1999 to serve as Chief of Staff , United Nations Preventative Deployment ( UNPREDEP ) , Skopje , Macedonia and Commander , Task Force Sabre , Camp Able Sentry , Petrovec , Macedonia . Career as a General Officer . In July 2001 , General Ingram was appointed Adjutant General of North Carolina , where he oversaw the largest mobilization of the North Carolina National Guard since World War II . While serving as the Adjutant General he also served as a member and subsequently as chairman of the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee . In October 2010 , he was called to the Pentagon to serve as special assistant to the Army ' s Vice Chief of Staff . He served in this assignment until his November , 2011 appointment to succeed Raymond W . Carpenter as Director of the Army National Guard . Civilian career . In civilian life , from 1975 to 1988 Ingram was General Manager , Corporate Secretary and Treasurer of N . C . Green Oil Company , a petroleum marketing firm in Williamston . He is a past director of the North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association and the Williamston Rotary Club as well as a past director of the Martin County Chamber of Commerce and the Martin County Bureau of Travel and Tourism . General Ingram was also a director of Martin County ' s Committee of 100 , an organization involved in local economic development efforts . Family . Lieutenant General Ingram Ingram is a native of coastal North Carolina . His wife Lil and he have three adult children and two granddaughters . General Ingram ' s father , Major General William E . Ingram , Sr . , served as Adjutant General of North Carolina from 1977 To 1983 .