He is the very model of a modern Major General. He’s information vegetable, animal and mineral.
It is the end of an era for the West Virginia National Guard. After serving for the past 10 years as Adjutant General, and a total of 37 years in the uniform, Major General James A. Hoyer will be retiring from his post at the end of this week. Brigadier General Bill Crane has been appointed as Hoyer’s successor and will officially assume the role of Adjutant General on January 4, 2021.
Hoyer was first commissioned in 1983, serving the W.Va. National Guard as a Cavalry Officer. For the next 28 years, Hoyer served his state and his country with honor and distinction in every assignment he was given. On February 1, 2011, Hoyer assumed command of the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard as Adjutant General.
Throughout his illustrious career, Hoyer has been recognized and decorated for his service on no less than 22 separate occasions. His accolades include the Legion of Merit, the Armed Forces Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the West Virginia Service Ribbon, to name but a few.
Hoyer’s retirement was announced on November 23 by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice.
“Major General Hoyer has spent almost 40 years in uniform and almost 10 years as the Adjutant General of our National Guard,” Justice said at the time. “He and his wife Amy have spent their entire life together in military service.”
Although Hoyer will be retiring from the National Guard, he will still be serving the state to which he has dedicated his life.
Justice went on to say, “The general and I had a conversation very recently where he expressed his desire to retire from uniform, but that he wanted to continue to serve the state. He also told me he wanted to continue to be a part of my leadership team leading our COVID response and preparing for vaccine distribution. I agreed that we would develop a plan for him to play a key role working for me but in a different status.”
Hoyer has been instrumental in West Virginia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding the statewide testing effort and vaccination roll-out.
Dr. Ayne Amjad, State Health Officer and Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Public Health, told the West Virginia Daily News, “Maj. Gen. James Hoyer has been a strong leader during the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has also shown a side to him that many may not have seen.”
Amjad, along with Hoyer, is a member of the Governor’s COVID-19 response team.
“I have seen how he has been a caring voice to his fellow W.Va. National Guard team, almost father-like. And he also has a great sense of humor,” Amjad said. “I wish him all the best and I look forward to continuing to work with him.”
Caring voice, indeed. Hoyer’s colleague, Maj. Holli Nelson of the USAF 130th Airlift Wing, had this to say about her time serving with the Adjutant General:
“Maj. Gen. Hoyer is an unbelievable leader and mentor, but most importantly, he is someone who truly loves his state and nation and only wants the best for both. He has dedicated himself to the advancement of West Virginia and has been successful in establishing programs and economic development opportunities that will benefit future generations of Mountaineers. He was, and is, a visionary leader who demanded the recognition of the National Guard and its Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen as a cost-effective, lethal and economic engine for good at the highest levels. He leaves behind an incredible legacy of service and dedication to this organization and I couldn’t be more proud to have served alongside such an incredible Adjutant General. Not only was he dedicated to the service men and women of whom he commanded, but he was also an advocate for our Gold Star Families and the immense sacrifices they have made on behalf of our nation. He will truly be missed, but I know his mission to advocate for the National Guard, National Guard families and West Virginia will continue well into his future.”
Father-like, indeed. State Superintendent of Schools, W. Clayton Burch, expressed his appreciation for Hoyer’s contributions to the youth of the Mountain State.
“Maj. Gen. James Hoyer has been a true partner to the West Virginia Board of Education and Department of Education during the COVID-19 response,” Burch said. “His tireless work-ethic, visionary leadership and faithful service to educators, students and families throughout the state have allowed us to better serve the needs of the education community from day one. Major General Hoyer never backed away from the continuous and escalating demands of the pandemic. Instead, he joined me and other agency partners as we leaned in to make sure we served meals, we delivered supplies and we met the unprecedented challenges head on.”
And met those challenges, he did. Hoyer was a key participant in the “West Virginia Kids Connect Initiative”, which made internet-access hotspots available to every student in the state.
“On behalf of the West Virginia Board of Education, Department of Education and the education community statewide, I extend my most sincere gratitude to him and the men and women of the National Guard,” Burch said. “We wish the Major General continued success in the future.”
He’s very good at integral and differential calculus. He knows the scientific names of beings animalculous. In short, in matters vegetable, animal and mineral, he is the very model of a modern Major General.
“I applaud Major General Hoyer’s years of dedicated public service to the people of our state and nation,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said. “Whether it was stepping up in the aftermath of devastating floods or his rapid and persevering response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Major General Hoyer has proven his leadership skills time and time again.”
While Hoyer will be stepping away from military life, he will continue to hold a leadership role within the Governor’s Joint Interagency Task Force on Vaccination. Hoyer will also be serving as Senior Associate Vice President at West Virginia University.
“I wish him the best in his new endeavor, and I know he will bring much experience to the role,” Morrisey said.
As many will remember, the “devastating floods” Morrisey referred to ravaged much of West Virginia in June of 2016. When it was all said and done, 23 people had lost their lives. One area hit particularly hard was the City of White Sulphur Springs.
City Manager Lloyd Haynes, who was the Mayor of White Sulphur Springs during the tragedy, is grateful for the tireless leadership Hoyer provided throughout the ordeal.
“He was an absolute jewel,” Haynes told the West Virginia Daily News. “We were so much better off with him in charge.”
Haynes said that he had many interactions with Hoyer during the time, and that the Maj. Gen. was always “very, very helpful.”
“There was never a ‘big me, little you’ with him,” Haynes said. “I’m sure that the governor and everyone in state-leadership could attest to the fact that we are very fortunate to have had him involved in our area’s business. He gave us a leg up and helped us get going.”
Haynes was not the only one left with a lasting impression after meeting him in the rubble of post-flood White Sulphur Springs, however he was correct about the Governor Justice’s recognition of just how fortunate West Virginia is to have had the Maj. Gen.
“I could never say enough about the job that General Hoyer has done leading our West Virginia National Guard,” Justice said, in a statement to the West Virginia Daily News. “We all know how they run to the fire the very moment that people are in trouble. But that mentally doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. It takes an incredible leader who runs to the fire himself, and that’s who General Hoyer is. He has been instrumental in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But his selfless service to the state goes back well before I walked in the door as Governor.”
The Justice family are the owners of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. Although the flooding forced the resort to close temporarily, many rooms were made available free of charge to those in need of shelter. By the end of June, some 200 area-residents made the Greenbrier their temporary home.
“I still remember like it was yesterday, when the 2016 flood hit,” Justice continued. I was among those wading through the mud in the aftermath. It was absolutely awful. But I remember the one thing that gave me hope was meeting with General Hoyer that week, and we talked about what we needed to do to take care of our people who had lost so much. Sure enough, when we truly needed them, General Hoyer and his team put their heads down and got to work. They were there as we cleaned up the rubble and they helped us rebuild our neighborhoods and communities from the terrible event. To see how much he, and the whole National Guard, cared about their fellow West Virginians was absolutely inspiring. When I came on as Governor, there was no doubt in my mind that the General and his people would absolutely be the light in the dark for West Virginia when times got tough. Over and over again they have answered the call.”
While speaking about Hoyer, Justice looked not only to the past, but also to the future.
The Governor concluded his statement saying, “While I’m sad to see General Hoyer retire from uniform, I’m excited that he will continue to serve our state through his new role at West Virginia University. I’m also excited for him and his wife Amy as they start this new chapter of their lives. I’ll always appreciate General Hoyer’s friendship and his unparalleled service to his nation and, particularly, the State of West Virginia.”
But still, in matters vegetable, animal and mineral, he is the very model of a modern Major General…and a grateful state says thank you, Major General James A. Hoyer.
