GeneralFrancis D. Vavala (born June 28, 1947) is a retired Army National Guard officer who served as the Adjutant General of the State of Delaware. He received the promotion in February 1999 after the retirement of Major General George Hastings.[1] In April 2017, Vavala was promoted to general in the Delaware Militia in honor of 50 years of service. He is the first Delaware National Guardsman to achieve four-star rank and one of the very few American service members to have risen from private to four-star general.[2]
As the Adjutant General, Vavala was the highest-ranking member of the Delaware National Guard. He was responsible for managing the affairs of the Army and Air National Guard and for advising Governor of the State of Delaware, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard.[3]
Early life and family
Vavala was born on June 28, 1947, in Elsmere, Delaware, the son of Frank and Nell Vavala. Vavala was raised with two other siblings, brother Gerard P. Vavala and sister Cissy E. Vavala-Gouert.[4] He graduated from Salesianum School in 1965.[5]
Vavala and his wife Jane reside in New Castle County, Delaware. They have a son, two daughters and three grandchildren. Before he was appointed as Adjutant General he was employed by DuPont as a Marketing Services Supervisor.[6]
Military career
Vavala enlisted as a private in the Delaware Army National Guard in March 1967. He was commissioned in June 1970 after completing the Delaware Military Academy Officer Candidate School. Vavala has held a series of key command and staff positions. Prior to his assignment as the Adjutant General, he served in the following key assignments: corps tactical operations center platoon leader, Company A 198th Signal Battalion (United States); company commander, Company C 198th Signal Battalion; executive officer (XO) and battalion commander, 198th Signal Battalion; Operations Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Delaware Army National Guard; Communications Systems Engineer, Wire Communications Technical Engineer, Traffic Officer, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander, 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade; Commander, Troop Command; Director of Plans, Operations, Training, and Military Support, Deputy Commander, and Assistant Adjutant General, State Area Command Headquarters, Delaware Army National Guard. From February 1999 to February 2017 the Adjutant General, Delaware National Guard.[6]
We do not accept the premise that all good ideas relating to the National Guard are reserved for the Department of Defense. We don't want to confront the DoD-we want to work with them. We also want our Chief, Lieutenant General H Steven Blum, to be permitted to fulfill the role of Chief, National Guard Bureau, which is to serve as the link of communication between the states and DoD. Just as Air Force commanders and Army division commanders, the Adjutants General are the best source for information about organizational health and readiness. Lieutenant General Blum is the most competent senior official in the nation to deal with the health and future of the entire National Guard institution.[10]
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the role of the National Guard in American defense policy changed as National Guard units were regularly deployed overseas.[12]
Prior to that, we were almost pigeonholed as a strategic reserve of the Army and Air Force. We've shifted to an operational force, a really indispensable force; this force that the Army and the Air Force need to be able to do their missions.
On August 31, 2005, "Task Force Delaware" composed of the 166th Security Forces of the Delaware Air National and the 153rd Military Police Company (United States) of the Delaware Army Guard deployed to Gulfport, Mississippi, in response to Hurricane Katrina. These were the first of over four hundred members of the Delaware Guard who, under the direction of the Delaware Guard leadership and local authorities, participated in relief efforts on the Gulf Coast.[14]
Hurricane Gustav
When Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana on September 1, 2008, the Delaware Air National Guard evacuated 285 hospital patients from potentially dangerous areas in Louisiana and Texas. The Delaware Air and Army National Guard sent two Black Hawk helicopters, communications and search and rescue specialists, as well as a Joint Enabling Team (JET).[15]
War on Hunger
Vavala initiated a program entitled the "War on Hunger" in December 2008 which placed food donation sites in all Delaware Army and Air National Guard facilities as well as National Guard supported events. Food collected through this program is delivered to the Food Bank of Delaware to help feed families at risk in Delaware.[16] Funds were also raised through the War On Hunger program to support the Food Bank's Backpack Program for children who experience hunger on weekends and when school is not in session.
^Matwey, Tech. Sgt. Benjamin (August 23, 2006). "Hurricane Katrina recollections". delawarenationalguard.com. Delaware National Guard –. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2012.