Dec 31, 2023

MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD ANNUAL REPORT, THE

Since August 2020, I have been honored to serve as the 32nd Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard.
Each year, I am excited to share with you the story of the tremendously talented men and women of your National
Guard.
Across the nation, each branch of service has felt the struggles of recruiting, but I can proudly report that with your
assistance, the Minnesota National Guard met its recruiting goals in our Army and Air branches for fiscal year 2023.
Why is this important to you? When you need us, we are Always Ready, Always There, to support and defend our state
and nation. As we start the new year, please keep providing us with your leads - Minnesota citizens who want to give
back to the community, expand their life experiences, and obtain career skills or benefits such as healthcare or funding
for higher education - Minnesotans who want to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Our organizational priorities remain unchanged since the fall of 2021 and focus on People, Modernization, and
Partnerships. Each priority is important, but as you read our report, please pay particular attention to how your
Guard is modernizing. The 9/11 attacks and the Global War on Terror changed your Guard from a strategic to an
operational reserve. This change necessitated having the same training, education, and equipment as our active-duty
counterparts. Now, more than ever, we are integrated with our active-duty brothers and sisters, allies, and partners.
We must keep pace with force modernization, which allows us greater interoperability with our active component
military branches and our partners to face global threats.
To face these threats, we benefit from having two partners – Croatia and Norway, through the Department of
Defense’s State Partnership Program. We have shared a partnership with Croatia for 27 years, and this past spring, we
formalized our partnership with Norway. This year, we celebrated our 50th anniversary of the Norwegian Reciprocal
Troop Exchange, and the State Partnership Program provides additional means to further train with our Norwegian
friends.
Today, your Guard is 13,000 Soldiers, Airmen, and civilian employees strong. When we add the service members’
families and the civilian employers, we are in the tens of thousands- all part of our extended military family. Without
your support, we could not accomplish our state and federal missions. Thank you for your contributions to keeping our
nation safe!

Maj. Gen. Shawn P. Manke
Minnesota National Guard
Adjutant General