Francis D. Vavala
Francis D. Vavala is a retired United States Army National Guard general who served as the Adjutant General of Delaware. He became Adjutant General in February 1999 after Major General George Hastings retired and led the Delaware National Guard until February 2017. In April 2017, he was promoted to general in the Delaware Militia to honor 50 years of service. He is the first Delaware National Guardsman to reach four-star rank and one of the few Americans to rise from private to four-star general. As Adjutant General, he was the highest-ranking official in the Delaware National Guard, managing the Army and Air National Guard and advising the Governor of Delaware, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Guard.
Vavala was born on June 28, 1947, in Elsmere, Delaware. He enlisted as a private in March 1967 and was commissioned in June 1970 after completing the Delaware Military Academy Officer Candidate School. Over the years he held many key command and staff positions within the Delaware Army National Guard before becoming Adjutant General.
He played a major role in national and state Guard issues, including lobbying against the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure plan to keep C-130 aircraft at the New Castle Air National Guard Base. He worked with local leaders to safeguard the 166th Airlift Wing. He also led efforts to empower the National Guard at the national level, serving as Vice President and then President of the Adjutants General Association of the United States and as Chairman of the National Guard Association of the United States.
Vavala spoke before the House Armed Services Committee in 2006 and was recognized by the Delaware House of Representatives in 2012 for his leadership. After 9/11, the Delaware Guard was more actively deployed overseas, and under his command units supported Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The Delaware Guard also participated in relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Gustav in 2008. He started the War on Hunger program in 2008 to help feed families in Delaware and support the Food Bank of Delaware.
His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Wilmington University (1984), and he completed various military courses, including the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Before becoming Adjutant General, he worked for DuPont as a Marketing Services Supervisor. He is married to Jane, and they live in Delaware with their family.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:57 (CET).