Tuesday, August 8, 2017
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin today named Brig. Gen. Louis Wilham to serve as Oklahoma’s interim adjutant general. Wilham, Oklahoma’s assistant adjutant general, will command the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard, and will serve on the governor’s Cabinet as interim secretary of the military. His appointment is effective Wednesday, Aug. 9.
Wilham takes over for Maj. Gen. Robbie L. Asher. Fallin named Asher adjutant general in February 2015.
Fallin informed General Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, of her decision to make a change in the adjutant general position.
“I have chosen to go a different direction and request that he be separated in order to meet the needs of the Oklahoma National Guard,” wrote Fallin in a letter to Lengyel.
“I appreciate General Asher’s 43 years of military service to our country,” Fallin said.
Wilham is an Oklahoma Army National Guard officer who also serves as the executive director of the Oklahoma Military Department, the state agency responsible for the administration of the Oklahoma National Guard.
“General Wilham is an accomplished military leader who is capable of leading the Oklahoma National Guard during this time of transition,” said Fallin.
Wilham enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard in 1987 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1989. His numerous assignments include brigade commander, 90th Troop Command; director of manpower and personnel; vice chief of staff; deputy chief of staff for personnel; as well as staff and command positions at the brigade, battalion and company levels. He served on active duty with the Oklahoma National Guard from 1997 to 2016 and deployed to Iraq with the 45th Infantry Brigade in 2008.
His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit; Bronze Star Medal; Iraqi Campaign Medal; Combat Action Badge; and numerous others. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s degrees from Troy University and the United States Army War College.
Wilham and his wife, Jody, reside in Edmond. They have two adult daughters, Taylor Wilham of Oklahoma City, and Shelby Percival of Petoskey, Michigan.