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Article by Dr. Clara Small, Professor Emerita  Janeen Birckhead was born in Snow Hill, Maryland, to Fannie Mae Birckhead and Lewis Birckhead. She was reared in Snow Hill and attended Snow Hill Elementary, Middle, and High School. Janeen acquired, specifically from her mother, a sense of volunteerism and the Protestant work ethic. Her mother, Fannie Mae Birckhead, was a volunteer for many organizations, including the Walk America Program, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Bell Ringer for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign, Food Bank for Snow Hill, Adopt-A-Highway Project, Worcester County Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Chairman of the Shore-Up, Inc., and Board of Directors, Champion of the Snow Hill School Scholarship Committee, and a host of others. As such, Janeen followed in the footsteps of her mother and worked hard to achieve her goals. At the age of fourteen, she began working at a fast-food restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland, during the summer months. In high school, she was on the basketball cheerleading squad and was a member of her school’s 4-H Club. While still in high school, Janeen was very active in community affairs and took advantage of every opportunity that was available to her. By the age of seventeen, she had travelled to Europe. Her favorite place in Europe was Tours, France where she visited her friend, Julie Joslee, the daughter of Gladys Goslee of Salisbury, who taught French in the Wicomico County School System. Janeen loved the friendly atmosphere where everyone talked to each other. She also spent a summer in the Caribbean, in St. Vincent, in the West Indies, as an American Foreign Studies (AFS) exchange student. In high school, Janeen was one of four finalists in the Miss Heartline Contest which was sponsored by Dell Publishing Company. She was chosen from among 700 entries in the contest, which promoted a new teen romance series that was called “Heartline.” The winner of the contest was slated to receive a $1,000 scholarship and 100 best-selling Dell books. Janeen was also a Calendar Girl in a pageant that was sponsored by the Delta Signa Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., to raise funds for scholarships. In 1984, she was also the Phi Beta Kappa’s Miss Cinderella, and a finalist in a pre-teen pageant. Janeen served as a Page in the United States Congress, in which she was sponsored by Maryland Congressman Roy Dyson. She spent six months in Washington, D.C., where she learned firsthand how government actually worked. She also saw how bargaining occurred behind the scenes, and how those dealings influenced laws and made a difference in the lives of ordinary people. Upon graduation from Snow Hill High School, Janeen enrolled in Hampton University, in Hampton, Virginia, where she majored in Political Science. She graduated magna cum laude from Hampton in 1991, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was a member of the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC), and was also honored as a Distinguished Military graduate.  Hampton University Visit Hampton Virginia Upon graduation from Hampton University on May 12, 1991, Janeen joined the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant. From June to November of 1991, she attended Chemical School at Fort McClellan, and then served as a Chemical Officer in the 419th Chemical Detachment in Washington, D. C., until May of 1993. She then transferred to the 29th Rear Area Operation Center until August of 1995. From 1995 to 1996, she served as the Aid-de-Camp to James F. Frettered, the Adjutant General in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2004, Janeen served as the Tiger Team Leader and Designated Military Officer for the Office of Administrative Review for the Detention of Enemy Combatants. In 2011, she was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan and served as the Deputy of Current Operations, Security Partnering, and International Security Assistance Forces. From April of 2017 to May of 2018, she served as the Director of Legislative Affairs of the Maryland National Guard. From June 2018 to April 23, 2023, she simultaneously served as Assistant Adjutant, and from March 2020 to May 2023, she served as the Deputy Commanding General-Reserve Affairs at the United States War College. While serving in those capacities, she earned a Masters of Arts in Management from the University of Maryland University College, and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. In addition to the graduate degrees, Janeen received various promotions in rank.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead assisted Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and his administration. She addressed equity issues in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Maryland and established the Mobile Vaccination Support Team (MVST) to resolve those problems. From January 25, 2021 to July 2021, Brigadier General Birckhead had the support of Salisbury residents, Katrinia Purnell, Dr. Nicole Gale, Sharon Morris, and Aundra Roberts, who worked together and got 2,100 residents on the Eastern Shore of Maryland vaccinated for COVID-19. Collectively, they assisted in the administering of first and second shots at sites in Salisbury and Princess Anne, Maryland, including Mills Memorial Baptist Temple, St. James Church, the Hayward Center, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, TidalHealth, Sam’s Club, Walmart North and South in Salisbury and Fruitland, and the Wicomico and Somerset County Health Departments. As a result of her service during the pandemic, Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead was selected by the Washington, D.C. National Guard to be the D.C. National Guard Leader and the Task Force Capitol Ground Commander for the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden. She was also a Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In March of 2023, Brigadier General Birckhead was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame. On April 20, 2023, Brigadier General Birckhead was promoted to Major General and named by Maryland Governor Wes Moore as the 31st Adjutant General of Maryland. As such, she leads the Maryland Military Department and is the only African American woman leading a state military. The Adjutant General of Maryland is the head military official of the Maryland National Guard, the Maryland Defense Force, and any other military or paramilitary units that may be maintained by the State of Maryland. The Adjutant General is responsible for the military department’s budget and maintains all State-owned armories in Maryland. Major General Birckhead is also advisor to the Governor of Maryland. Some of her responsibilities includes being responsible for leading a force of over 6,300 soldiers, airmen, and federal and State employees, responsible for providing a relevant and capable force ready to fight, protect, defend and prevail against all threats. For her many responsibilities, Major General Janeen Birckhead has been the recipient of numerous military decorations and accolades. Some of the decorations and medals includes: • Legion of Merit • Defense Meritorious Service Medal • Meritorious Service Medal • Army Commendation Medal • Air Force Commendation Medal • Army Achievement Medal • Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal • National Defense Service Medal • Armed Forces Reserve Medal • NATO Medal • Overseas Service Ribbon • Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon • Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and a host of other military badges. Major General Birckhead is a member of a host of professional memberships, due to her many achievements, in and out of the military. As a civilian, she served as Senior Advisor for the United States Department of the Interior and Bureau of Trust Fund Administrator. Several of her civilian career positions include: State Equal Employment Opportunity Manager, Special Agent in Charge for Defense Security Services, and Deputy Chief of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at the Office of Personnel Management, before going to the Department of the Interior in 2010. On February 29, 2024, Major General Janean Birckhead was named the USA Today’s Maryland Woman of the Year, for her many accomplishments. She has received copious national, state and local awards and accolades, and she is still intricately tied to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Each year, she continues to participate in a local Adopt-A-Highway Program, which was begun by her late mother, Fannie Mae Birckhead. The local program requires the participants to pick up pounds of trash and litter on a stretch of highway in Worcester County, Maryland. The program is so popular and inspirational that the participants have included: county commissioners, State representatives, high school and college students, Birckhead relatives and friends, and concerned citizens. The success of the program is a testament to her mother’s commitment to her beloved community which was passed onto Janeen and Janeen’s commitment to continue to carry the torch forward, locally, state-wide and nationally. Major General Janeen Birckhead is a highly respected native of Snow Hill, Maryland, who has made her mark in society. Although she has accomplished many things in her career, her legacy is not yet fulfilled as she continues to inspire others to reach their goals, and assists others in the community, the state and the nation. Sources:
Maryland Commission for Women, 2023 “National Guard Biography,” www.nationalguard.mil Msa.maryland.gov. “Brigadier General Janeen L. Birckhead,” Capitol Gazette, March 24, 2023. “Brigadier General Janeen L. Birckhead: Poised to Become the Only Black Woman Leading a State Military,” Black Engineer, April 27, 2023. “Birckhead Appointed Adjutant General by Governor: Snow Hill Alumna Becomes Nation’s First Black Woman to Lead State Military in Country,” Ocean City, Mary-land Coast Dispatch Newspaper, April 11, 2023. Hine, Hunter, “Snow Hill Native Named 31st Adjutant General Last Month,” Ocean City Today, May 4, 2023. Louise, Ash, “Birckhead is Miss Heartlines Finalist,” The Daily Times, August 10, 1986, p. 25.
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