Brigadier General Leland D. Blanchard II is The Adjutant General (TAG) of the District of Columbia National Guard and the principal advisor to the Commanding General. He oversees the day-to-day strategic leadership, training, readiness, operational employment and performance of the Army and Air Force components of the D.C. National Guard.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard assumed the duties of The Adjutant General on March 1, 2024. Prior to this assignment, he served as Commander of the District of Columbia’s Land Component Command (LCC) since November 1, 2022. He also served as a Joint Task Force Commander when the JTF is activated. He was responsible for developing, managing, execution, and oversight of all activities to ensure individual and organizational readiness within the D.C. Army National Guard.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard grew up in Englewood, Florida and enlisted in the US Army after graduating from East Tennessee State University. Serving in the 82nd Airborne Division as a non-commissioned officer, he was selected to attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga., where he commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1998.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard’s initial assignment to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division as a Mortar Platoon Leader and then HHC Executive Officer was followed by assignment at Ft Benning, GA and then the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry. He commanded A Company, 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry prior to deploying to Iraq.
Among his assignments, Brig. Gen. Blanchard has served at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Polk, LA as the lead rotational and maneuver planner. He was assigned to the Army National Guard Directorate where he served as a Strategic Plans Officer and then was assigned as the Assistant Executive Officer for the Director of the Army National Guard. In 2012 Brig. Gen. Blanchard took command of the Ghostriders of the 2nd Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment in the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
After attending the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, Brig. Gen. Blanchard served as the Levant Branch Chief for Exercises in the USCENTCOM J7 where he was responsible for the planning, resourcing, and execution of multi-national exercises such as EAGER LION and BRIGHT STAR. After CENTCOM, BG Blanchard served as the Chief of Reserve Component Operations, Plans, and Training at the National Training Center (NTC) at Ft Irwin, CA.
As the 15th Chief of Training for the Army National Guard, he was responsible for Institutional and Collective training for more than 335,000 Soldiers across the country. After serving as the Chief of Training, Brig. Gen. Blanchard took command of the National Guard’s Professional Education Center where he had oversight of education and training for more than 25,000 Soldiers annually.
Immediately prior to serving as the Land Component Commander for the DCARNG, Brig. Gen. Blanchard was the Army National Guard Deputy G3/5/7 for Operations and Training. He had responsibility for programming, planning, budgeting, and execution of training and operations for 335,000 Soldiers serving worldwide.
Brig. Gen. Blanchard and his wife Michelle have been married for more than twenty years and are the proud parents of Leland and Delaney.