Bill Text: VA SJR87 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Major General Timothy P. Williams, VNG.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-12 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ87ER) [SJR87 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SJR87-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Major General Timothy P. Williams, VNG, retired on July 1, 2023, as the Adjutant General of the Virginia National Guard after more than 37 years of service to the Commonwealth and the United States; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams is a lifelong Virginian and 1985 graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; he was subsequently commissioned as a field artillery officer in the United States Army and served in staff and command positions at the battery, battalion, and brigade levels beginning with a tour on active duty with what was then the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 1990 and spent most of his distinguished military career as a traditional status national guard soldier while also working as a federal civil servant; his military career culminated in his appointment as director of training support and doctrine at the Combined Arms Support Command at what is now Fort Gregg-Adams; and
WHEREAS, on June 2, 2014, Major General Williams was sworn in to lead the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard, and Virginia Defense Force, and he was reappointed to that position in 2018; since then, he has led the Virginia National Guard with distinction, maintaining an unprecedented operational tempo at home and abroad and overseeing new force structure innovations and facilities improvements; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure as adjutant general Major General Williams ensured Virginia National Guard personnel were properly trained and equipped and well prepared to safeguard the lives and property of Virginians and to support law-enforcement organizations during multiple periods of civil unrest in the Commonwealth and Washington, D.C., including the "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017, protests in multiple Virginia locations in June 2020, and the immediate response to the events of January 6, 2021, and with the deployment of more than 2,900 personnel to augment security for the presidential inauguration in January 2021; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams prioritized readiness for domestic response operations so that when hazardous weather affected the Commonwealth, Virginia National Guard personnel were available to assist local, state, and federal emergency response organizations; he also helped mobilize a response force of nearly 500 troops to assist with hurricane response in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2017; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams guided the Virginia National Guard through more than 460 days of support to Virginia's COVID-19 pandemic response, with personnel assisting at vaccination and testing sites and providing administrative, logistics, and planning support at locations across the Commonwealth; during the COVID-19 pandemic response operations, nearly 600 members of the Virginia National Guard and Virginia Defense Force completed more than 1,100 missions to help keep their fellow Virginians safe, and they supported nearly 160 local, state, and federal agencies over the course of the mobilization; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams was a driving force behind the creation of the 91st Cyber Brigade, the first Army National Guard cyber brigade, the establishment of the 185th Cyber Operations Squadron, and the reassignment of the United States Air Force F-22 Formal Training Unit to Langley Air Force Base; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams and the members of the Virginia National Guard provided critical support when Fort Barfoot was selected as one of eight safe havens in the United States designated to provide transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for Afghan evacuees as part of Operation Allies Welcome; more than 10,000 Afghan guests were processed through the installation during the resettlement effort; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams set new goals for facilities improvements with the construction of the Virginia National Guard's first purpose-built headquarters building at Defense Supply Center Richmond, the first dedicated headquarters building for the Virginia Air National Guard at Langley Air Force Base, and the new headquarters for the 91st Cyber Brigade and 185th Cyber Operations Squadron; he also spearheaded significant improvements in training capabilities and quality of life facilities at Fort Barfoot and the State Military Reservation; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams provided leadership and historical perspective in the effort to rename Fort Pickett as Fort Barfoot, helped ensure the 29th Infantry Division retain its insignia, and developed a new insignia for the Virginia National Guard Joint Force Headquarters that is a better representation of Virginia National Guard history with colors linked to the Continental Army and the nation's fight for independence during the Revolutionary War; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams oversaw the historic federal active duty mobilizations of more than 2,000 soldiers and airmen in the United States and overseas from August 2021 to February 2023, the third most in the last century; during that time, Virginia National Guard soldiers on duty in the United States provided support to a U.S. Department of Defense-approved mission assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the southwest border and to United States Cyber Command, while soldiers and airmen deployed overseas provided support to operations in Iraq, Kuwait, the Horn of Africa, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kosovo, and the United Arab Emirates; and
WHEREAS, Major General Williams is married to his college sweetheart, Cheryl, who has been the epitome of a military spouse throughout his career; she has been a tireless proponent for the military and especially the National Guard, and her active participation, advocacy, and support have been critical to the Virginia National Guard team; the couple are blessed with three adult children and three adorable grandchildren; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Major General Timothy P. Williams, VNG, on the occasion of his retirement as adjutant general of the Virginia National Guard; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Major General Timothy P. Williams, VNG, as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his achievements in service to the Commonwealth and the nation.
