Ohio National Guard News

Ohio National Guard brigadier general
becomes commander of 38th Infantry Division

Story by Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

Sgt. 1st Class Lasima O. Packett, 38th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs

Brig. Gen. Gordon L. Ellis (at lectern), incoming commander of 38th Infantry Division, addresses Soldiers and guests at the unit’s change of command ceremony Feb. 11, 2018, in Indianapolis. Ellis will lead more than 8,000 National Guard Soldiers from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Delaware.

Sgt. Diana Richardson, 38th Infantry Division

Brig. Gen. Gordon L. Ellis receives the 38th Infantry Division flag during the unit’s change of command ceremony Feb. 11, 2018, in Indianapolis. Ellis came to the 38th Infantry Division headquarters in December 2014, where he’s served as the deputy commanding general for sustainment, and previously led the Ohio National Guard’s 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (02/11/18) — Ohio Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Gordon L. Ellis has taken command of the 38th Infantry Division, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ellis will lead more than 8,000 National Guard Soldiers from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Delaware.

Ellis officially took command during a ceremony in Indianapolis on Feb. 11 from Maj. Gen. David C. Wood, who has led the 38th — also known as the Cyclone Division — since October 2014.

“Brig. Gen. Ellis is a proven leader who has successfully led Soldiers at every level,” said Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, Indiana adjutant general. “Gordon’s performance as the 38th Infantry Division deputy commanding general made him a clear choice to command the 38th Infantry Division.”

Maj. Gen. Mark E. Bartman, Ohio adjutant general, congratulated Ellis on his new command. “Gordon has selflessly dedicated more than three decades of his military career in service to the Ohio National Guard, and the men and women of the Cyclone Division are in good hands with him at the helm,” Bartman said.

Ellis came to the 38th Infantry Division headquarters in December 2014, where he’s served as the deputy commanding general for sustainment. He has commanded at every level from platoon and company to battalion and brigade. Ellis led the Ohio National Guard’s 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2012-14, and served as the unit’s deputy commander during its deployment to Iraq and Kuwait in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2011.

In his civilian occupation, Ellis is the sheriff of Brown County, which is about 50 miles east of Cincinnati in Ohio.

“I want to thank Maj. Gen. Carr for the opportunity to lead the 38th Infantry Division,” Ellis said. “I truly appreciate the service that Maj. Gen. Wood has provided the Soldiers of the 38th. I look forward to continuing the forward momentum of mission readiness and maintaining the tradition of excellence in performance that is the hallmark of the Cyclone Division.”

The 38th Infantry Division, one of eight Army National Guard and 18 Army divisions, provides fully manned, equipped, trained and expertly-led units, prepared to deploy and conduct unified land operations for combatant commanders and to respond to any domestic crisis in support of civil authorities. | READ BG Ellis bio