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Brig. Gen. Patrick Chard

2 Director, Joint Staff

Brig Gen Patrick D. Chard is the Director of the Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters – West Virginia National Guard, Charleston, WV and Chief of Staff, Headquarters West Virginia Air National Guard, Charleston, WV. He is responsible for guiding, coordinating, managing, and providing supervisory control of West Virginia National Guard Joint Staff and Special Program activities.  As a member of the senior leadership team, he assists the Adjutant General with directing West Virginia National Guard operations, training, and resourcing to ensure ready and highly capable forces in support of state and national missions.

Brig Gen Chard joined the WV National Guard in September 1991 as an enlisted Command and Control Apprentice assigned to the 130th Airlift Wing Command Post.  He entered fulltime service, in October 1996, as a dual status federal technician and Logistics Plans Specialist in Wing Plans.  In June 1999, Brig Gen Chard graduated as a distinguished graduate from the Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson ANGB, TN, received his commission, and was named the Commander for the 130th Communications Flight.  Since then, he has served in numerous command and senior staff roles within the West Virginia National Guard culminating in his current assignment. 

Brig Gen Chard has deployed in support of Operations Joint Forge, Joint Endeavor, and Enduring Freedom. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brig Gen Chard acted as the Deputy J6 for Task Force Belle Chasse, Belle Chasse Naval Air Station, LA.  He has been activated twice in support of Joint Force Headquarters Department of Defense Information Network, United States Cyber Command, first in 2018 as the Director for Cyber Defense Support to Civil Authorities and then in 2023 as the Deputy Director, J7.  Finally, Brig Gen Chard has been instrumental in the development of the West Virginia National Guard’s State Partnership Program having led the first Air Force centric Subject Matter Expert Exchange with the Qatar Emiri Air Force and the first cyber exchange with the Peruvian Armed Forces.

Brig Gen Chard is considered an expert in cyber security and holds numerous professional certifications.  He has served as an advisor and adjunct instructor to Marshall University, the University of Charleston and West Virginia University at Parkersburg for the development and instruction of cyber security related courses. 

EDUCATION

1998 Bachelor of Arts Degree, West Virginia State College, Institute, WV
2007 Squadron Officer School (Correspondence), Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
2011 Air Command and Staff College (Correspondence), Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
2014 Masters of Science Degree in Technology Management, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
2016 Executive Education in Leadership in Homeland Security and Crisis Management, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2017 Air War College (Correspondence), Maxwell Air Force Base, AL

ASSIGNMENTS

  1. September 1991 – October 1996, COMMAND AND CONTROL SPECIALIST, 130th Airlift Wing, McLaughlin Air National Guard Base, Charleston, WV
  2. October 1996 – June 1999, LOGISTICS PLANS SPEACIALIST, 130th Airlift Wing, McLaughlin ANGB, Charleston, WV
  3. June 1999 – February 2007, COMMANDER, 130th Communications Flight, McLaughlin ANGB, Charleston, WV
  4. February 2007 – July 2015, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER and DIRECTOR J6, Joint Force Headquarters – WV, Charleston, WV
  5. July 2015 – January 2018, DIRECTOR OF STAFF - AIR, Headquarters WV Air National Guard, McLaughlin ANGB, Charleston, WV
  6. January 2016 – August 2017, COMMANDER (M-day), 167th Force Support Squadron, Shepard Field, Martinsburg, WV
  7. January 2018 – June 2020, COMMANDER, 130th Maintenance Group, McLaughlin ANGB, Charleston, WV
  8. June 2020 – February 2025, DEPUTY WING COMMANDER, 130th Airlift Wing, McLaughlin ANGB, Charleston, WV
  9. February 2025 – May 2025, CHIEF OF THE JOINT STAFF, Joint Force Headquarters – WV, Charleston, WV
  10. May 2025 – Present, DIRECTOR OF THE JOINT STAFF, Joint Force Headquarters – WV, Charleston, WV

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS

  1. February 2007 – July 2015, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER and DIRECTOR J6, Joint Force Headquarters – WV, Charleston, WV, as a Lieutenant Colonel
  2. June 2018 – October 2018, DIRECTOR FOR CYBER DEFENSE SUPPORT TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES, Joint Force Headquarters Department of Defense Information Network, United States Cyber Command, Fort Meade, MD as a Colonel
  3. July 2023 – September 2024, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, J7, Joint Force Headquarters Department of Defense Information Network, United States Cyber Command, Fort Meade, MD as a Colonel
  4. February 2025 – May 2025, CHIEF OF THE JOINT STAFF, Joint Force Headquarters – WV, Charleston, WV as a Colonel
  5. May 2025 – Present, DIRECTOR OF THE JOINT STAFF, Joint Force Headquarters – WV, Charleston, WV as a Brigadier General

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

DEFENSE MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL
MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL with five oak leaf clusters
JOINT SERVICE COMMENDATION MEDAL
AIR AND SPACE COMMENDATION MEDAL with one oak leaf cluster
AIR AND SPACE ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL with one oak leaf cluster

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant June 18,1999
First Lieutenant June 18,2001
Captain June 26, 2003
Major September 9, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel October 1, 2011
Colonel December 2, 2017
Brigadier General May 5, 2025

(Current as of JUNE 2025)

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WVNG