The leader of the Iowa National Guard says the nine-thousand soldiers under his command are serving during the “longest, most challenging period of war and domestic emergencies” in the state’s history.
Adjutant General Timothy Orr delivered his “Condition of the Guard” address at the statehouse. Today, 425 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen are on active duty.
Eighty soldiers from two Iowa Guard units currently are serving in Afghanistan. Orr says guard units deployed to “more than a dozen locations around the globe” this past year.
Ninety-seven percent of the Guard’s budget is financed by federal tax dollars. Orr used his annual address to thank legislators and Iowans for their “steadfast” and “phenomenal” support of the Iowa National Guard.
