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Brigadier General Karl S. Bowers, Jr.

Assistant Adjutant General for Air

Brigadier General Karl S. Bowers, Jr. is the Assistant Adjutant General for Air, South Carolina National Guard, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina. As the Assistant Adjutant General Air, he is responsible for the mission readiness, operations, and coordination of more than 1,400 Airman and a $103 million operating budget in supporting both the State and Federal mission.

General Bowers is a career guardsman, enlisting in the South Carolina Air National Guard in 1983 after graduating from high school. General Bowers earned his commission in 1992 upon graduation from the Academy of Military Science at McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base. General Bowers left the SCANG in 1996 to attend law school at Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, LA, where he served as an Adjunct Instructor for the Air Force ROTC Detachment at Tulane while in law school. General Bowers returned to the SCANG in 1999 as a JAG officer. Prior to assuming the role of Staff Judge Advocate, General Bowers dually served as the Vice Wing Commander, 169th Fighter Wing, South Carolina Air National Guard, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina and the State Headquarters Staff Judge Advocate, Columbia, South Carolina.

In his civilian occupation as an attorney, General Bowers is the sole proprietor of the Bowers Law Office in Columbia, SC, where he has a public policy and litigation practice focused on governmental and legislative affairs, campaign finance and election law, and regulatory matters. He has served as Special Counsel for Voting Matters at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C, and Chairman of the South Carolina Election Commission. General Bowers is a member of the Bar in South Carolina and the District of Columbia and has admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia
1993 Master of Public Administration, College of Charleston, S.C.
1998 Juris Doctor, cum laude, Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans. L.A.
2001 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2011 Air Command & Staff College, by correspondence
2015 Air War College, by correspondence

ASSIGNMENTS
1. March 1983 – February 1992, Enlisted member, 169th Medical Squadron, McEntire JNGB, SC
2. March 1992 – January 1993, Transportation Officer, 169th Fighter Wing, McEntire JNGB, SC
3. January 1993 – July 1995, Health Services Administrator, 169th Medical Squadron, McEntire JNGB, SC
4. February 1999 – February 2016, Deputy and Staff Judge Advocate, 169th Fighter Wing, McEntire JNGB, SC
5. March 2016 – May 2019, State Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Force Headquarters, Columbia, SC
6. June 2019 – August 2019, Vice Wing Commander, 169th Fighter Wing, SCANG, McEntire JNGB, SC
7. September 2019 – December 2021, Judge Advocate, Joint Force Headquarters, Columbia, SC
8. January 2022 – Present, Assistant Adjutant General – Air, Joint Force Headquarters, Columbia, SC

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, April 1992
First Lieutenant, May 1994
Captain, February 2000
Major, March 2004
Lieutenant Colonel, May 2010
Colonel, September 2016
Brigadier General, February 2022

(Current as of May 2022)

Leadership