Photo By Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock | The 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, held a...... read more read more
CAMP DOUGLAS, Wis. – The Wisconsin Army National Guard formally dedicated the drill floor at the headquarters of its most storied unit in honor of a former adjutant general during a May 4 ceremony in Camp Douglas.
The drill floor at the 32nd “Red Arrow” Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s headquarters now bears the name of the late retired Maj. Gen. James Blaney, Wisconsin’s 28th adjutant general and a former Red Arrow commander.
The honor to Blaney is a fitting tribute to a man credited with saving the iconic Red Arrow – a unit with a history and lineage dating back to the Civil War.
In the 1990s, there was talk of deactivating the famed unit, which had distinguished itself on the battlefields of World War I in France and in World War II in the Pacific Theater. During the First World War, the 32nd pierced every enemy line it encountered, inspiring its now famous and distinctive insignia, and during the Second World War, it spent 654 days in combat in places like New Guinea and the Philippines – more than any other American division in the war.
It was Blaney, then the commander of the brigade, who led the charge to ensure that the 32nd’s service to Wisconsin and the nation would continue.
“Without Maj. Gen. Blaney, the lineage and the history of the 32nd may have ended in the early 90s,” Col. William Benson, the current Red Arrow commander said during the dedication ceremony. “We are indebted to his contributions to the brigade. This memorial stands as a permanent testament to his leadership and sacrifice. It will serve as a place for reflection and renewed dedication to something bigger than ourselves. Let his example inspire us to be better leaders, better Soldiers, and better citizens. Forward.”
Blaney enlisted in 1960 and mobilized the following year with the 32nd Division for the Berlin Crisis. He later commissioned and went on to command the 2nd Battalion, 128th Infantry, the Wisconsin Military Academy, the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s Troop Command, and the 32nd before becoming Wisconsin’s Deputy Adjutant General for Army, and ultimately Wisconsin’s Adjutant General in 1997.
The organization dedicated the drill floor in his honor through the Wisconsin Army National Guard Memorial Program – established as a formal process for honoring deceased heroes and distinguished individuals connected to the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Blaney’s efforts to save the Red Arrow in the 1990s paid dividends for national defense and Wisconsin in the decades that followed. The brigade played a critical role in the Global War on Terror in the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. After elements of the Red Arrow deployed to Iraq in the mid-2000s, the entire brigade deployed to Iraq in 2009-10. Subsequent deployments of 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team units the ensuing years to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine continued to add to the unit’s legacy, as did repeated mobilizations during domestic emergencies in Wisconsin and places like Florida for hurricane relief efforts.
“Today as we dedicate this drill floor in his honor, we recognize the profound influence he had on the Wisconsin Army National Guard, and we ensure that his legacy continues to inspire future generations of Soldiers,” Brig. Gen. Brion Aderman, Wisconsin’s Deputy Adjutant General for Army, said. “This facility is more than just a physical space. It is a place where leaders are made, skills are honed, and Soldiers come together to forge the strength and unity that are hallmarks of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.”
Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, appointed Blaney as the Adjutant General, was present at the ceremony, and noted how Blaney was a natural leader full of charisma and personality that made him well-suited to be an effective commander.
“But he loved the 32nd Brigade, and he loved the National Guard,” Thompson, a lifelong friend of Blaney’s, said. “What he really loved was being a Soldier. He loved being a Soldier. And if you pick a career that you really love and respect like Jim Blaney did, the Army, the military, you know you had a great leader. And that’s what he was.”
Blaney passed away in 2020, but his family, including his wife, Ramona, a retired colonel, and his son, Scott, a retired lieutenant colonel, were grateful for the honor.
“I want to thank the Wisconsin National Guard for making this happen,” Scott Blaney said. “And though it may not seem like much, it means the world to us as a family that the senior leadership showed up to this in person for this honor.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2025 11:55 |
| Story ID: | 497142 |
| Location: | CAMP DOUGLAS, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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