New Guard commander pledges support for transgender troops

Gov. Mark Dayton Wednesday named Major General Jon A. Jensen to a seven-year stint as the new Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard.

Jensen will succeed Major General Richard Nash, who is retiring at the end of October.

He has more than 29 years of National Guard service, including assignments in Kuwait, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq. The Iowa native currently serves as commanding general of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division and as Nash's chief of staff.

In a message directed to the more than 13,000 men and women he'll soon lead, Jensen promised to give his best.

"I will work hard every single day to ensure that you have the resources and the support, both inside of our organization and throughout the communities here in Minnesota, to ensure that you are prepared and always ready," he said.

In addition to readiness, Jensen said one of his top priorities is to bring greater diversity to the guard, with soldiers who mirror the community.

His appointment comes days after President Trump ordered a ban on transgender military service, a reversal of a policy under the Obama administration.

Jensen acknowledged Minnesota has an unspecified number of openly transgender soldiers.

"We have supported them, and we will continue to support them going forward," he said.

Jensen said the Minnesota National Guard will follow policy and regulations, but he expressed unease about the pending change.

"I have concerns, as we appeared to have one policy and now it might be moving towards another policy. I'm very concerned that we have a consistent policy with that," he said. "I truly believe this: service should be open to everyone. Not everyone will select to serve, but it should be open to everyone."

Jensen's appointment also comes as National Guard troops from several states have been dispatched to Texas to assist with hurricane and flood recovery efforts there.

Jensen stressed the need to be prepared for such disasters, but he deferred specific questions about a possible response to the current adjutant general.

Major General Nash said Minnesota troops are ready to help, but Texas has not yet asked.

"There's probably six or seven states that have sent soldiers and airmen and equipment to assist Texas," Nash said. "So, until we're asked, and at this point the adjutant general last night from Texas said 'don't send anybody. We'll call if we need additional assets.' So, that's where they're at, at this point."

Dayton said he's given advance approval to a guard deployment, when and if Texas requests help.

"We have a joint partnership, relationship with all the states, where if asked for this kind of emergency we will respond," Dayton said. "We're prepared. Thanks to General Nash the Minnesota Guard is prepared to respond immediately if asked."