Deputy Director Cris Crisler

Maj Gen (Ret) William J. Crisler joined the National Guard Association of Mississippi as Deputy Director on February 3, 2017.  He has been an active member of the Association since 1979, serving on the Board of Directors and numerous committees.  His 36 year military career began in 1978 when he was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program and joining theMississippiAir National Guard in 1979.  During his military career, he commanded at the flight, squadron, group and wing level culminating in his final assignment as Assistant Adjutant General for Air and Commander of the Mississippi Air National Guard.  He retired from the military on May 31, 2015.

Gen Crisler graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a degree in business administration and received his Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law.  He joined his family’s investment business in 1983 where he managed a portfolio of real estate and equity investments.  From 2005 until his retirement, he worked full time for the Mississippi Air National Guard as the 172nd Airlift Wing’s Air Commander and then as Assistant Adjutant General for the Mississippi National Guard.

He and his wife Eva, live in Clinton, Mississippi where they raised their 4 children who are all now adults living in every time zone in the continental United States:  Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Oxnard, California.  Gen Crisler and Eva are active members of First Baptist Church in Clinton and they enjoy gardening, fishing and traveling in their spare time.