Oklahoma National Guard has new leader
The Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard has a new boss, and he’ll be starting immediately.
Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday named Brig. Gen. Louis Wilham to serve as the interim adjutant general. He will serve as the governor’s cabinet secretary and command the guard forces effective Wednesday.
Wilham replaces Maj. Gen. Robbie Asher who served as adjutant general for two years. The previous two Oklahoma
National Guard commanders served six and seven years respectively.
Fallin informed General Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, of her decision to make the change.
“I have chosen to go a
different direction and request that he be separated in order to meet the needs of the Oklahoma National Guard,” wrote Fallin in a letter to Lengyel, who serves on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Asher could not be reached for comment.
An Oklahoma National Guard spokeswoman referred questions about the change in command to the governor’s office. Fallin’s press secretary, Michael McNutt, said the decision was a personnel matter and declined to comment on the circumstances around Asher’s departure.
“The governor is commander in chief and she felt like it was time for a change of direction,” McNutt said.
“I appreciate Gen. Asher’s 43 years of military service to our country,” Fallin said in a statement.
Wilham serves as the executive director of the Oklahoma Military Department, the state agency responsible for the administration of the Oklahoma National Guard.
“Gen. Wilham is an accomplished military leader who is capable of leading the Oklahoma National Guard during this time of transition,” said Fallin.