TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general of Kansas, is the new chairman of the National Guard Association of the United States.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made the announcement Tuesday.

Bunting became adjutant general in 2004. He oversees the Adjutant General's Department that includes more than 7,600 members of the Kansas Army and Air National Guard. He also is director of Kansas Emergency Management and director of Homeland Security for the state.

Kansas guard members have assisted in Kansas with tornadoes and flooding, in California with wildfires, and in Louisiana and Texas with hurricanes. Also, 500 members currently are in Iraq and Afghanistan.