RICHMOND, Va. –
Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger will reappoint Maj. Gen. James W. Ring as the Adjutant General of Virginia according to an announcement made Jan. 5, 2026. The announcement was made along with other key appointments for senior leadership positions within the incoming administration.
“It is an honor and privilege to be reappointed as the Adjutant General of Virginia by Governor-elect Spanberger,” said Ring. “I am grateful for the opportunity, and I look forward to continuing my work in this important role and serving the Soldiers, Airmen and civilians of the Virginia National Guard, as well as volunteers with the Virginia Defense Force.”
The Adjutant General of Virginia serves as the agency head for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs, the state agency providing leadership and administrative support to the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia Air National Guard and Virginia Defense Force.
Ring began his tenure as the Adjutant General of Virginia during a change of command ceremony in June 2023, when he succeeded Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, who will serve as Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs in the Spanberger administration. Prior to taking command of the Virginia National Guard, Ring served as the VNG Director of the Joint Staff.
Ring is a 1988 Distinguished Military Graduate of Virginia Military Institute, and he holds a master’s degree from the Command and General Staff College in Military Arts and Science and a master’s degree from the U.S. Army War College in Strategic Studies. He commanded at the company, battalion, brigade and general officer task force levels and has served with distinction in key leader operational assignments from the state to national levels. He has deployed in support of Operation New Horizons in U.S. Southern Command; Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina; Operation Iraqi Freedom in Southwest Asia; as well as to Operation Jump Start on the U.S. Southwest Border.
Since Ring’s 2023 appointment, the Virginia National Guard has numerous success stories. In 2025, the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was officially converted into a mobile brigade combat team after becoming the first Army National Guard brigade to test and evaluate an approved task organization for a mobile brigade combat team during their 21-day eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation in June 2025 at Fort Pickett, Virginia.
In 2024, the Virginia National Guard formally added Finland as a partner in the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, and continued a positive relationship with its other state partner, Tajikistan. Also in 2024, the VNG stood up a Directorate of Resiliency to improve resiliency and readiness across its formations. In 2025, the VNG saw the return of the 29th Infantry Division Artillery, or DIVARTY.
The VNG has continued to serve as an essential component of global operations since 2023. The Virginia Beach-based 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion supported U.S. Army’s 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade in Poland in 2024 and Cyber forces from both the Army and Air National Guard mobilized in support of global operations. Currently, Soldiers assigned to the Hanover-based 229th Military Police Company are deployed in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, and the Powhatan-based 180th Engineer Support Company is providing engineer capabilities to Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. In addition, the Virginia Air National Guard demonstrated their value and expertise with their regular Air Force partners in planning and executing F-22 missions in the U.S. Central Command and Indo-Pacific areas of operation.
The VNG has also participated in multiple disaster response and domestic operations during Ring’s tenure. Virginia National Guard aviators assigned to the Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team performed several rescue missions in southwest Virginia after devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene, and VaANG Airmen supported Helene response missions in North Carolina. VaARNG Soldiers also conducted a Southwest Border mission in 2023, and VNG Soldiers and Airmen participated in the 60th Presidential Inauguration in 2025.