Section 512 of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes the Vice Chief National Guard Bureau to be raised in grade from a three-star Lieutenant General to a four-star General.

Legislation signed into law in October 1994 [Public Law 103-337] established and codified the Chief and Vice Chief National Guard Bureau into title 10 of the United States Code. The Vice Chief is to be selected by the Secretary of Defense from officers of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States who— “(A) are recommended for such appointment by their respective Governors or, in the case of the District of Columbia, the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard; “(B) have had at least 10 years of federally recognized commissioned service in an active status in the National Guard; and “(C) are in a grade above the grade of colonel. The Vice Chief must not be of the same branch of service as the Chief (i.e. if the Chief is Army, the Vice Chief must be Air). At the time the law was put into place, the grade of the Vice Chief was two-star (Major General).

In October 2004, the position of Vice Chief was redesignated as the Director Joint Staff [Public Law 108-375], but it reverted back to Vice Chief in December 2011 and the same public law raised the grade level of Vice Chief from Major General to three-star Lieutenant General. That law also established a separate position in the grade of Major General for the Director Joint Staff National Guard Bureau, as well as installing the Chief National Guard Bureau into the Joint Chiefs of Staff. [Public Law 112-81] The impetus of this legislation to elevate the Chief National Guard Bureau onto the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reestablish the position of Vice Chief began in 2007 with the National Guard Empowerment Act, introduced by Missouri Senator Kit Bond and Vermont Senator Pat Leahy. But it took from 2007 until 2011 to bust through conventional patriarchal thinking to codify it in law.

The higher grade level puts the Vice Chief on par with the Vice Chiefs of the other components (Army and Air Force Vice Chiefs) as well as providing grade representation when filling in for the Chief in various tank sessions with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It adds great credibility and prominence to the National Guard Bureau and the National Guard as a whole.

— EANGUS National Office