AUGUSTA – Col. Robert G. Carmichael Jr. has been selected as the new chief of staff for the Maine Army National Guard, it was announced Tuesday. Carmichael, 44, replaces Col. Mark A. Gilbert, who has been assigned as the state director of Intelligence and Security-Homeland Security.

Carmicheal was commissioned in May 1979 through the ROTC program at the University of Maine in Orono. He is a veteran who served with the 160th Special Operations Regiment during his six years on active duty and most recently served as the state aviation officer and the director of operations for the Maine Army National Guard.

Carmichael, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Carmichael Sr. of Bucksport, graduated from Bucksport High School in 1975, the University of Maine with a degree in education in 1979 and earned his Masters of Business Administration degree from Thomas College. Carmichael now lives in Bucksport with his wife, Michelle, and his four children, Bobby, Sam, Chloe, and Chase.