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Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire, the NGAUS chairman of the board, will retire from the military April 10 after 34 years of service, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Friday.
McGuire will stay on as association chairman through the 143rd General Conference & Exhibition, set for Sept. 9-12 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The conference agenda includes elections for all of the elected officer positions on the board.
McGuire is the adjutant general of Arizona and the director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. He is a member of the governor’s cabinet.
He is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of a nearly 8,300-member department, which includes the Arizona’s Army and Air National Guard, joint programs, and the Division of Emergency Management, or DEMA.
“General McGuire’s solid leadership and expertise has been critical, especially during the COVID-19 emergency response,” Ducey said in the announcement. “Arizona is grateful for General McGuire’s exceptional service to the state and nation.”
McGuire has served in the role since 2013. He planned to retire last year but extended his service because of the pandemic.
Over the last 12 months, Arizona Guard soldiers and airmen performed a number of roles, including helping operate vaccination sites and transporting medical supplies to remote areas.
“The last year has been the most humbling and gratifying year of my service to watch the nearly 8,300 soldiers, airmen and civilians of DEMA prove we are always ready, always there," McGuire said.
McGuire was an Air Force fighter pilot after graduating from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He joined the Arizona Air Guard in 2001 and commanded the 162nd Fighter Wing based in Tucson, Arizona, before being appointed adjutant general.
Under Arizona law, the governor is the Arizona Guard’s commander in chief while the adjutant general heads the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, serves as an adviser to the governor and is responsible for supervising the National Guard’s activities and training.
Ducey will appoint McGuire's successor.
McGuire was elected NGAUS vice chair-Air in 2018 by delegates to the 140th General Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans. He succeeded Maj. Gen. Donald Dunbar as chairman in January 2020 after Dunbar resigned.
He had planned only to serve out the remaining few months of Dunbar’s two-year term, but the board extended those positions up for election for one year after it was determined that delegate voting was not possible at last year’s virtual conference.
