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    She's currently the only Black woman leading a state military. Here's how it happened

    Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead of Maryland only became a soldier to help pay for college. Three decades later, she's risen to the top military position in Maryland, leading a force of 4,600 soldiers.
    by Ajani Daniel Sep 24, 2023 3 minutes
    Maryland National Guard Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead visits with a woman as she receives her Moderna coronavirus vaccine in Wheaton, Md., in 2021.

    When applying to colleges, Brigadier Gen. Janeen Birckhead and her mother exhausted every option possible to cover her tuition. For Birckhead, a career in the military was never something that crossed her mind.

    Little did she know her application for an ROTC scholarship at Hampton University in Virginia would set her on the path to becoming the leader she is today.

    "She challenged me to apply, and I got the interview. And then, after I got the interview, I went through the process, and I was awarded the scholarship.

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