Johnston, Iowa -- A retirement ceremony was held for Brig. Gen. Randy Greenwood, Chief of Staff, Iowa Air National Guard, who selflessly served the National Guard of Iowa for thirty-six years.
Serving in his current position as Chief of Staff, Brig. Gen. Greenwood was responsible for the readiness and well-being of over 1900 airmen. All while simultaneously serving as State of Iowa Quartermaster, overseeing Real Property and personnel at the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center in Johnston.
“I got to really be introduced to you, as you were the state Quartermaster,” Said Brig. Gen. Damian Donahoe, Deputy Commanding General for Maneuver, IA Army National Guard. “And, that is a challenging role. But Randy was willing to step up and take that on. You brought in the concepts, not only from the total quality management, but other performance improvement concepts and applied them to what the team was doing there. And that had a lasting impact.”
Greenwood’s distinguished service with the Air National Guard awarded him a myriad of military awards and decorations. When asked about which he is most proud of, he highlighted the Meritorious Service Medal, in which 2 of his 4 awards were for the 132d Wing mission conversions. One MSM for the conversion of F-16C/D aircraft block 42 engines to block 30 engines, and one MSM for the 132d Fighter Wing F-16C/D mission conversion to the current 132d Wing tri-mission sets. He is also extremely proud of his overseas awards, including the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Air Force Overseas Ribbon [Short].
Greenwood highlighted the amazing amount of teamwork required to accomplish each conversion and each overseas mission. Specifically noting how the overwhelming amount of effort each piece required was completed with precision and excellence by all involved.
“That’s why we’re in the uniform; to have impact,” he said. “Whether it’s down the street or on the other side of the world.”
Retiring Command Chief Master Sgt. Of the Iowa Air National Guard, Timothy Cochran shared his thoughts, “What a time, Sir. I want you to know from me, that I [am] deeply appreciative of your retirement; your retirement means so much to me because of all the years that we’ve been together and all we’ve shared,” he said. “And it is truly my honor to offer you, one of my last official acts, my coin.”
Greenwood began his career as an enlisted member of the 132d Tactical Fighter Wing, Iowa ANG in 1983. He was an Airman Basic, and worked in the Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron as an Aircraft Maintenance Crew Chief.
In June 1991, he received his commission to Second Lieutenant from the Academy of Military Science, and for the next several years, served in many commanding officer positions at the 132d, including Vice Wing Commander. He moved into his state level position at JFHQ in December 2015.
He credits his success to the support he received from his leadership, his colleagues, and those he oversaw.
“My most humble thanks go to those that mentored me, and my hope is that I’ve been able to pay that forward,” said Greenwood in his retirement program comments. “I cannot depart without thanking all the members of the many teams I was on and fortunate to lead.”
In his closing comments of his ceremony, Greenwood thanked his family; his wife Sue, his children, Jessica (Peter), Nicole (Danny), and Brandon, his Uncle Tom and Margaret, his father and all his uncles who served in the military and inspired him,
He finished with, “The leaders in our organization get to take the accolades for a lot of hard work of people on our team. And, I hope everybody knows that we all [on the leadership team] are honored and humbled by the ability to represent such a great team. I hope we have done a good job of passing that on and making sure everyone knows how much we appreciate the things that we hear, about the state, the Army Guard [and] the Air Guard. It is just truly humbling; I can’t say enough about that.’