Governor Quinn Announces Retirement of Illinois National Guard Commander

SPRINGFIELD - June 7, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Maj. Gen. William L. Enyart, the 37th Adjutant General of the State of Illinois and Commander of the Illinois National Guard, has retired from military service and resigned as the Director of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs effective immediately.

"I thank General Enyart for his more than 35 years of military service, including the last five years leading the 13,000 men and women of the Illinois National Guard," Governor Quinn said. "Illinois has the most exemplary National Guard in the United States and has had an exemplary leader."

During Maj. Gen. Enyart's tenure as the Adjutant General, the Illinois National Guard deployed the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan, the largest single deployment of Illinois National Guard Soldiers since World War II, and has responded to two major floods and a major winter storm in Illinois.

Most recently, the Illinois National Guard deployed nearly 1,500 troops to the Chicago area to help ensure the NATO Summit was a safe and secure event for the citizens of Illinois as well as thousands of foreign diplomats and heads of state.

"It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard," Maj. Gen. Enyart said. "To have led the Illinois National Guard through the largest deployment since World War II, to have served through floods, blizzards and ice storms with the finest men and women in the world has taught me a greater appreciation for the strength of this great nation, for the strength of its service members, its families, its working men and women than I could ever have gained without that experience."

Governor Quinn will name Maj. Gen. Dennis Celletti, the Assistant Adjutant General - Army, as the acting Adjutant General until a new Adjutant General and Director of Military Affairs is selected.