Maj. Gen. William "Bill" Crane assumed the duties as The Adjutant General, West Virginia Joint Forces Headquarters – West Virginia on Jan. 4, 2021. As the Adjutant General for the State of West Virginia, he provides command guidance and vision to the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard's more than 6,500 Citizen Soldiers, Airmen, and civilians employed through the West Virginia Military Authority. He provides the overall supervision of the day-to-day operations and management of the readiness, fiscal, personnel, equipment and real property resources of the agency.
Maj. Gen. Crane was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May 1989 through the Reserve Officer Training Course at West Virginia University. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Director of the Joint Staff and previously as the United States Property and Fiscal Officer for the West Virginia National Guard. He has also held roles as the Chief of Staff for the West Virginia Army National Guard and commander of the 111th Engineer Brigade.
Maj. Gen. Crane completed the United States Army War College through a Fellowship at Old Dominion University where the emphasis was modeling, analysis and simulation. He completed a deployment in Baghdad, Iraq where he was the J-3, director of operations, of the Joint Interagency Task Force for High Value Individuals. Prior to his full time employment with the West Virginia Army National Guard, he was a chemist where he developed chemical processes that allowed him to be awarded three United States Patents.
Maj. Gen. Crane’s previous assignments include: Deputy Brigade Commander, 111th Engineer Brigade, Commander, 1092d Engineer Battalion, J3, Joint Interagency Task Force – High Value Individuals. Chief of the Officer Personnel Branch, Commander of the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, the Personnel Management Officer, the S3, Operations Officer of the 1092nd Engineer Battalion, the S2, Intelligence Officer of the 1092nd Engineer Battalion, the S4, Logistics Officer of the 1092nd Engineer Battalion, Commander of Company A, 1092nd Engineer Battalion, Commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1092nd Engineer Battalion, Executive Officer of Company D, 1092nd Engineer Battalion, and Platoon Leader of Company B, 1092nd Engineer Battalion.
He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Glenville State College, Glenville, W.Va. and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Communication from West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. He is a graduate of the United States Army War College Fellowship Program, Army Command and General Staff Officer College, the Functional Area 43A Human Resources Course, the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced courses, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
His military awards and decorations include: Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (w/ 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (w/ 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Multi-National Forces-Iraq Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Former Wartime Service, the Army Achievement Medal (w/ Oak Leaf Cluster), the National Defense Service Medal (w/ Service Star), the Army Service Ribbon, the NCO Professional Development, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal (w/ Oak Leaf Cluster & M Device), the West Virginia Meritorious Service Medal, the West Virginia Commendation Medal, the West Virginia Minuteman Ribbon and the West Virginia Service Ribbon.
(Current as of 27 June 2023)