WASHINGTON, July 27, 2012 - The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Army Lt. Gen. Frank J. Grass as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau and Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel as the bureau's vice chief.
Grass, who also will be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be promoted to four-star general. Lengyel will add his third star, with his promotion to lieutenant general.
The Senate's action followed Grass' July 19 hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Grass will succeed Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, the National Guard's first four-star general and first to be appointed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Lengyel, the senior U.S. defense official in Egypt, will be the first three-star vice chief of the National Guard Bureau. The position of vice chief was re-established and elevated to the three-star level by the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.
Lengyel is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours, mostly in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. His 30-year career has included extensive service with the Texas Air National Guard and key assignments as commander, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group; Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan; commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and vice commander, First Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
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