New adjutant general for Ohio National Guard assumes role

From left to right, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Barrow, 180th Maintenance Squadron (MXS) munitions systems specialist, 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, Lucas County, Ohio, Airman 1st Class Andrew Stephens, 180th MXS weapons loader and Tech. Sgt. Evan Sanders, 180th MXS weapons loader, prepare an F-16C Fighting Falcon for takeoff during Exercise Northern Strike 24-2 at Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, Iosco County, Michigan, Aug. 14, 2024. Air National Guard photo

From left to right, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Barrow, 180th Maintenance Squadron (MXS) munitions systems specialist, 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, Lucas County, Ohio, Airman 1st Class Andrew Stephens, 180th MXS weapons loader and Tech. Sgt. Evan Sanders, 180th MXS weapons loader, prepare an F-16C Fighting Falcon for takeoff during Exercise Northern Strike 24-2 at Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, Iosco County, Michigan, Aug. 14, 2024. Air National Guard photo

The Ohio National Guard will welcome a new adjutant general today.

Brig. Gen. Matthew Woodruff will assume the role of adjutant general, which oversees the Ohio National Guard, State Defense Force, and Ohio Cyber Reserve.

Woodruff is the guard’s assistant adjutant general for Army and commanding general.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will host an Ohio Adjutant General change of command ceremony Friday morning in Columbus, followed by a retirement ceremony for Maj. General John C. Harris Jr.

Brig. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, then Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army, presents his challenge coin during the 2024 Ohio National Guard Joint Judge Advocate Legal Workshop at Camp Perry Joint Training Center, in Port Clinton, Ohio, Aug. 10, 2024. (Army National Guard photo).

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Harris will begin serving as the director of the Ohio Department of Veteran Services Monday, replacing retired Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst, who retired last month.

DeWine appointed Harris to serve as Ohio’s adjutant general in January 2019.

State Sens. Steve Wilson, R-Maineville, and Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, thanked Ashenhust for her service Friday.

“The kindness and care Director Ashenhurst has shown to our veterans is unparalleled,” Wilson said. “Her ability to lead this agency and to make sure Ohio’s military veterans have the services they need will be missed.”

The Ohio Air National Guard is the second largest air national guard force in the country, with wings supporting state and federal governments and two major Air Force commands: Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command.

With about 17,000 members total, the Ohio National Guard is considered the nation’s fourth-largest national guard.

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