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The commander of the Iowa National Guard is retiring after 40 years of military service.
Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr will retire on May 1.
In his role as the state's adjutant general, he commands both the Iowa Army National Guard and the Iowa Air National Guard.
"I have been extremely fortunate and honored to serve alongside some of the finest soldiers and airmen our country has to offer," Orr said in a written statement released Thursday. "They have made the organization what it is today and I will never forget it."
Orr enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard in 1978 while he was still a student at Boone High School. He was appointed adjutant general in March 2009.
He commanded the Iowa National Guard during its biggest mobilization since World War II. In 2009, about 2,800 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division went to Afghanistan.
But that was not the only deployment during his tenure as adjutant general. He was responsible for the deployment of an additional 4,200 soldiers and airmen for overseas operations. Some of those troops went to Kosovo as peacekeepers.
In 2011, Orr started a state partnership program between the Iowa National Guard and the security forces of Kosovo. That partnership between the military organizations evolved into a broader relationship between Iowa and that Balkan nation. One result is that Fort Dodge is now in a sister city to Gjakova in Kosovo.
Orr worked closely with state and federal leaders to find a new role for the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines after its F-16 Fighting Falcon jets were removed by the Air Force. Today, the unit is known as the 132nd Wing and includes remotely piloted aircraft, cyber defense and military intelligence components.
In 2013, Orr helped to develop the Home Base Iowa program to attract veterans and their families to Iowa.
Orr has served on the Reserve Forces Policy Board, the Adjutants General Association of the United States, the Army National Guard General Officer Advisory Council, the Association of the United States Army, the Army National Guard's Sustainment Readiness Advisory Committee, the Cyber General Officer Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
Brig. Gen. Stephen Osborn, who is the director of the Iowa National Guard Joint Staff, will serve as the interim adjutant general after Orr retires.