California National Guard Gets Nation’s First Black Female Leader

SACRAMENTO -The first black woman to head the National Guard in any state has taken charge in California, commanding the nation’s largest Guard unit.

Brigadier General Mary Kight (kite) was sworn in Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a former Air Force base outside Sacramento. She is the first woman to lead the 21,000 members of the state’s Army and Air National Guard.

Schwarzenegger called Kight a pioneer for breaking gender and racial barriers during her long career.

She is the state’s 45th adjutant general, assuming command from General William Wade. Wade is leaving to help command a North Atlantic Treaty Organization force in Italy.

Kight, who is 59, has spent nearly 25 years with the California guard after seven years in the Air Force.