Major Gen. Maria L. Britt, commanding general of the Georgia Army National Guard, will serve as keynote speaker for Southern Polytechnic State University 99th commencement ceremonies. Ceremonies are at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Britt is in charge of the 11,200 soldiers that make up the Georgia Army National Guard. Commissioned from the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., as a second lieutenant in 1983, Britt is the first woman to hold the rank of major general in the 278-year history of Georgia's National Guard.