Gov. Kim Reynolds taps Brig. Gen. Stephen Osborn as new National Guard adjutant general

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has chosen the next top general to lead the Iowa National Guard weeks after its current leader announced his retirement.

Brig. Gen. Stephen E. Osborn will replace Maj. Gen. Benjamin Corell as the Adjutant General for the Iowa National Guard, the top post of the military reserve force, who oversees more than 2,000 employees and nearly 9,000 part-time soldiers and airmen.

Reynolds praised Osborn's leadership skills and experience "both home and abroad" in a news release announcing his appointment.

“General Osborn has been an invaluable member of the Iowa National Guard as our state has faced natural disasters, a pandemic, and civil unrest,” she said in the release.

Osborn has served as the National Guard's deputy adjutant general since August 2018 and previously served as the deputy commanding general of the Army National Guard's Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Benning, Georgia.

He brings nearly 40 years of military experience to the role, including deployments to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Kosovo in 2004 and Iraq in 2009.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Osborn also holds a master of public administration degree from Drake University and a master of strategic studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.

Osborn has been awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Expert Infantryman’s Badge and Pathfinder Badge.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Corell to step down after 3 years on the job

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Corell has served as the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard since August 2019, overseeing the guard during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Reynolds announced his retirement in January, she said she couldn't imagine going through the last two years with anyone else at the helm of the guard.

"Your story and your service is incredible and the state is better for it," she told Corell. "God bless you."

Throughout his career, Corell has led several of the guard's infantry divisions and has deployed overseas to Iraq, Afghanistan, Romania and Kuwait. In early January, Corell spoke to the Iowa Legislature in the annual Condition of the Guard address, where he described recruiting challenges for the volunteer force and said the state will need to assess and reorganize its facilities in the coming years as the guard's demographics, and the state's population, shift.

Corell said the decision for his retirement, which he said is planned for March 1, was so that he could spend more time with his wife and grandchildren. Prior to Reynolds' official appointment of Osborn, Corell hinted that the National Guard will be well-positioned for the future under its new leadership.

"I won’t get out in front of her on that, but I know it’s in good hands," he said in January.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: New Adjutant General of Iowa National Guard named by Gov. Kim Reynolds