Historic City News celebrates appointment of the first Hispanic female to reach the rank of General in the Florida National Guard. Colonel Valeria Gonzalez-Kerr was installed Wednesday, November 25th, at St. Francis Barracks, located at 82 Marine Street in St. Augustine.
During the 10:00 a.m. ceremony, Gonzalez-Kerr was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Her assignment will be Assistant Adjutant General – Support for Florida.
Gonzalez-Kerr currently serves as the Florida Department of Military Affairs’ State Quartermaster and the Florida National Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General – Army.
General Gonzalez-Kerr began her military career in 1984 when she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. She entered into active duty in the United States Army in 1986 as a Reserve Army Quartermaster Officer.
She has served in several key positions including Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer and Assistant Battalion Supply Officer with the 3rd Support Battalion (Forward); Commander, Headquarters Detachment, 50th Supply and Service Battalion; as well as Battalion Personnel Officer, 50th Supply and Service Battalion.
Her assignments include Intelligence Officer, Language Officer and Operations Officer, 260th Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist); Personnel Officer, 260th Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist); Director of Personnel and Administration, 50th Area Support Group; Administrative Officer and Executive Officer, Florida National Guard Recruiting and Retention Command; Executive Officer, 260th Military Intelligence Battalion (Linguist), Assistant Chief of Staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Florida and Battalion, Commander, 927th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
General Gonzalez-Kerr deployed as Commander of the 927th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion to Iraq in 2007. She most recently served as Commander of the Homestead-based 50th Regional Support Group and Director of Human Resources for the Florida National Guard.