Johnston, Iowa (RI) — The Iowa National Guard’s adjutant general says this is a pivotal moment of evolution for the organization, with construction on new facilities and more soldiers joining its ranks.
Major General Steve Osborn says the Iowa Guard has had recruiting success and is authorized to add dozens of new positions in 2025.
The 137 new positions are for combat engineers as well as soldiers who’ll work in cyber security and field artillery. Osborn delivered the annual “Condition of the Guard” address at the Iowa Capitol today (Thursday). Afterwards, he met with reporters and discussed plans to rebuild a runway at Sioux City’s airport. It’s where Air Guard planes carrying massive amounts of fuel take off to resupply military aircraft in mid-flight.
The FAA has notified officials the runway has about two more years of unrestricted use in its current condition and after that it will be too dangerous for the aircraft and crews to use it. He says the FAA is likely to supply some of the funds for rebuilding the runway. The total project cost — 95 MILLION dollars.
Osborn says commercial traffic will not be disrupted at the Sioux Gateway Airport as the Air Guard’s runway is rebuilt. The Air Guard’s refueling wing will operate at a nearby air base in Omaha or Topeka, Kansas during the project. Osborn presented state legislators with two key policy proposals today as well. He’s asking legislators to adjust Iowa’s new law on chronic absenteeism. About four hundred 17- and 18-year-old high schoolers who’ve enlisted in the Iowa Guard are being counted as absent from school when they travel for required screening.
Osborn is also seeking changes in Iowa National Guard Service Scholarships. He proposes that soldiers seeking a professional certificate or credential as well as those getting a college degree be eligible for the state-funded scholarships.
In May, a 24 MILLION dollar training facility will open in West Des Moines that will be used by the Guard as well as the West Des Moines Fire Department. Later this year, there will be a groundbreaking in Sioux City for a new 14-million-dollar, federally-funded, Army National Guard maintenance facility. Nearly nine thousand men and women serve in the Iowa Army National Guard and the Iowa National Air Guard. Seven hundred soldiers and airmen were deployed in 2024 to a variety of missions, including responding to Iowa natural disasters and assisting authorities at the US/Mexico border.
