CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A member of State Adjutant General James Hoyer’s Staff is
ready to take over his position. Brig. Gen. Bill Crane has been selected to
replace General Hoyer when he retires from uniform in January. Crane has been
with the guard for 36 years and for five years served as General Hoyer’s Chief
of Staff.
“It’s been a dream of mine and certainly I’ve worked hard
toward achieving this over the years and I’ve had a lot of great mentors, one of
which was General Hoyer who recommended me to the Governor,” Crane told
Metronews.
Crane grew up in the community of Friendly, West Virginia in
Tyler County and attended Sistersville High School. Prior to his service with
the National Guard he was a chemist at Union Carbide. He said the science
background is reflected in his leadership style.
“I’m a real process
oriented leader. I think that’s one thing most people would tell you, I prefer
to have a good process in place as we do things,” he explained.
Crane
spent time not only in the West Virginia National Guard, but has also worked
alongside the administration of the national umbrella organization for the
Guard. Crane says his experience with the Guard included personnel work,
intelligence operations, and logistics work. He was also the United States
Property and Fiscal Officer.
“I worked directly for the Chief of the
National Guard Bureau. I did that for about four years. My wife called me the
banker for the National Guard. All funds would come through me and I would sent
it out to the Army and Air Guard,” he said.
Crane knows the role of the
Guard and the stature is carries in West Virginia. He’s proud to have been part
of helping build the legacy and wants to continue that with his
leadership.
“There’s no greater thing in my mind than to serve others.
When we go out and do missions and people get to see us in our uniforms helping
other, people really want to be part of that,” he said.
Crane’s
appointment to Adjutant General will begin January 4th. General Hoyer will take
a position with West Virginia University, but will stay on in his role on the
Governor’s Covid 19 Task Force and will continue in his role of planning and
implementation of the Covid 19 vaccine distribution in West Virginia. Crane said
he’s been part of the planning on that mission as well.
“I’m hopeful
we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and we’ll get through
this thing. An organization is only as good as the people who are in it and we
have some of the best people in my mind who are helping to respond to this,” he
said.