Brigadier General John R. Pippy assumed his duties as Pennsylvania's acting adjutant general and head of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) on Sept. 30, 2024.
In this cabinet-level position with the DMVA, headquartered at Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA, Pippy oversees a combined state and federal budget of over $900 million.
He is responsible for the command and control of nearly 18,000 Army and Air National Guard members (3rd largest National Guard); a complement of 2,500 commonwealth employees; care of residential cadets at the Keystone State ChalleNGe Academy; and six state-owned veterans homes and programs for Pennsylvania's nearly 700,000 veterans (fifth largest in the nation).
Prior to assuming this position, Pippy most recently served as the director, Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Pennsylvania National Guard, and as the deputy chief of engineers for National Guard Affairs at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Headquarters (Washington D.C).
He also served in a variety of other command and staff positions within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, which included two deployments to the Middle East. He deployed as the engineer director and headquarters battalion commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve from September 2016 to July 2017, and in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the commander of the 332nd EN CO (Kittanning, PA).
BG Pippy graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering. He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic Course, the Engineer Captains Career Course, the United States Army Command General Staff Officer Course, the U.S. Army War College, and the Senior Leader Course at the Baltic Defense College. He also earned a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Irish American University, a National Security Management Executive Education Certificate from Syracuse University Maxwell School, and a certificate of completion for the General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education.
BG Pippy's awards and decorations include the Combat Action Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Engineer Regiment's Bronze Order of the De Fleury Medal.
BG Pippy also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly for 16 years, retiring in 2012 from the Senate after serving nine years as a State Senator and seven years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Pippy is a resident of Moon Township, Pennsylvania with his wife, Kathy. They have one adult daughter, Katelyn.