Adjutant General
An Adjutant General is a rank and a role that may represent the principal staff officer of an army; through him, the commanding general receives communications and issues military orders.
In the United States, the Adjutant General is the chief military officer of the National Guard units in any one of the American States. This use of the term reflects the early history of the US where each of the 50 States retains partial sovereignty, including the right to maintain military forces; the Army and Air National Guard are state units that can be called to federal duty in case of national emergency.
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Famous quotes containing the word general:
“Though of erect nature, man is far above the plants. For man’s superior part, his head, is turned toward the superior part of the world, and his inferior part is turned toward the inferior world; and therefore he is perfectly disposed as to the general situation of his body. Plants have the superior part turned towards the lower world, since their roots correspond to the mouth, and their inferior parts towards the upper world.”
—Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274)