RICHMOND, Va. — Brig. Gen. Toni M. Lord will succeed Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Ryan as the Virginia National Guard Air Component Commander, according to an announcement made Oct. 4, 2019, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Dukes, Jr., will succeed Lord as the Virignia National Guard Assistant Adjutant General for Air Strategic Initiatives.
“Please join me in congratulating these outstanding officers on advancement to positions of new and increased responsibility,” Williams wrote in the announcement. “Each brings a wealth of experience and commitment to the Virginia National Guard. We are grateful for their dedication and countless contributions, and will grow as an organization due to their capable leadership. The air component will face many strategic challenges and opportunities ahead, and I have tremendous confidence that these capable leaders will tackle them head on.”
Ryan will retire after 24 years of service.
“Brig. Gen. Ryan has made lasting contributions to our organization during this time, notably leading as the 192nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander, 192nd Mission Support Group Commander, 192nd Maintenance Group Commander, 192nd Vice Wing Commander and culminating as Virginia National Guard Air Component Commander. Please join me in wishing Jeff and his family the very best in military retirement and continued success in his civilian career.“
Lord has more than 35 years of active and reserve military service as both a commissioned officer and enlisted. She served six years active duty in the U.S. Air Force and entered the Virginia Army National Guard for three years as a flight operations specialist. In 1991, she transferred to the Virginia Air National Guard as a resource operations specialist, where she received her commission in 1998 at the Academy of Military Science and was appointed the personnel officer for the Virginia State Headquarters. She commanded the 192nd Support Squadron and the 192nd Mission Support Group at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and she also served as the director of staff for the Virginia Air National Guard Headquarters. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1991, an Associates in Electronic Systems at the Community College of the Air Force in 1992 and Associates in Resource Management at the Community College of the Air Force in 1994. She earned a Master of Business Administration in Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.
Dukes most recently served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Virginia National Guard. Dukes received a direct commission as an Air Force judge advocate in 1994, following graduation from the University of Virginia School of Law. He served on active duty from 1994 to 2004, and then as a Category B reservist from 2004 until 2015, when he joined the Virginia Air National Guard. In his civilian life, Dukes is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Virginia’s Schools of Law and Public Policy. He earned a bachelors degree in 1990 at the University of Maine at Farmington, and he is a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.