RICHMOND, Va. –
Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has appointed retired Virginia Army National Guard Col. Lesley Kipling to serve as the deputy secretary of veterans and defense affairs, according to an announcement made Jan. 5, 2025. The announcement was made along with other senior staff in the Office of the Governor, Virginia state agency leads and secretariat senior staff within the incoming administration and is available online at
https://vngpao.info/2p8bvpeu.
Kipling retired in 2025 after 26 years of service and has deployed to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and mobilized domestically in support of Hurricane Katrina. She commanded at the company and battalion level and helped to stand up the National Guard’s only cyber brigade.
“I knew when I retired from the military that I wanted to continue to serve and make a positive impact,” Kipling said. “I am incredibly humbled and very excited to have been selected to as the Virginia deputy secretary of veterans and defense affairs where I will serve and support veterans, military families and servicemembers across Virginia.”
Retired Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, who served as the 28th Adjutant General of Virginia, was selected by Spanberger to serve as the Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, according to a news release from the incoming governor’s communications team Dec. 22, 2025. Williams, who retired from the VNG in 2023, succeeds retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw, who was appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2021. Read more about Williams at
https://vngpao.info/2ue84wr3.
Kipling began her career as an active-duty signal officer after commissioning through the James Madison University ROTC program and has served in tactical, operational and strategic assignments.
In 2003, she deployed to Kuwait then Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom where her unit worked closely with the Baghdad police force. In 2004, she joined the Virginia Army National Guard and later deployed to Afghanistan with the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Her culminating assignment was at the Pentagon supporting the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Kipling’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and two Bronze Stars, and she also earned the Joint Chief of Staff and Army Staff Identification Badges. She has a Master’s of Science degrees in Journalism and Public Policy from American University and Government Information Leadership from the National Defense University.