Jon A. Jensen
Official portrait, 2022
Born1963 (age 59–60)
Council Bluffs, Iowa
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branch
Years of service1982–present
RankLieutenant General
Commands heldArmy National Guard
Minnesota National Guard
34th Infantry Division
1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division
2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry
Battles/warsOperation Desert Spring
Operation Joint Forge
Iraq War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star Medal
Alma materNorthwest Missouri State University (BS, 1986)
Spouse(s)Cindy
Children3[1]

Jon A. Jensen (born 1963) is a lieutenant general in the United States Army. He currently serves as the 22nd director of the Army National Guard.[2] He previously served as the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard from November 2017 to August 2020.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Prior to that, he was assigned as commanding general of the 34th Infantry Division from January 2017 to October 2017 and as deputy commanding general for United States Army Africa from 2015 to 2017.[9] He assumed his current assignment on 10 August 2020,[10][2] with an effective date of rank of 3 August 2020.[11]

Education

Jensen attended Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, graduating in 1982.[12] He is a 1986 graduate of Northwest Missouri State University.[1] Jensen later earned master's degrees from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.[7]

Military career

Jensen enlisted into the Iowa Army National Guard as a Private (PV1) combat medic in November 1982. He served for six and a half years and reached the rank of Staff Sergeant before attending the Army's Officer Candidate School, and received his commission upon graduation in 1989.[9] As a second lieutenant, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division. He was deployed to Kuwait in 2001, Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003 as a major and Iraq in 2007 as a lieutenant colonel and in 2009 as colonel for a second deployment to Iraq.[7]

Awards and decorations

National Guard Bureau Organizational Badge
34th Infantry Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
135th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia
2 Overseas Service Bars
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges
 Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges. Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Army Meritorious Unit Commendation with oak leaf cluster
Superior Unit Award
Silver oak leaf cluster
 Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
 National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Bronze star
 Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with service star
Iraq Campaign Medal with two service stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver Hourglass device, "M" device and bronze award numeral 3
NCO Professional Development Ribbon
Army Service Ribbon
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 2
Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon with award numeral 3
Bronze star
 NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia with service star

Publications

  • Jensen, Jon A. (2002). The Effect of Operational Deployments on Army Reserve Component Attrition Rates and its Strategic Implications: A Monograph (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 Key, Kyle (11 August 2020). "MLt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen is new Army National Guard director". Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 "LTG Jon A. Jensen assumes duties as the 22nd Director of the Army National Guard". The National Guard. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (30 August 2017). "Minnesota has a new leader for the National Guard: Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen". Pioneer Press. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Top National Guard general defends punishment of commander who exploited soldiers for sex". KSTP. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Hildreth, Kara (13 November 2017). "Rosemount leader sworn in to lead Minnesota National Guard". RiverTowns. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen to speak at Military Appreciation Dinner Jan. 16". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 "National Guard Biography". www.nationalguard.mil. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve > News & Events > ESGR in the News".
  9. 1 2 Miller, Andrew. "New assignment for brigadier general from Apple Valley". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen is the Army National Guard director
  11. ↑ nationalguard.mil – Director, Army National Guard, Lieutenant General Jon A. Jensen
  12. ↑ '82 Titan. Council Bluffs, Iowa: Lewis Central High School. 1982.
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