35th Infantry Division

Mission: Mobilize and deploy to a theater of operations and conduct actions in a combined or joint environment supporting national command objectives. The division conducts military and civil support operations, including support and stability operations in an overseas environment or upon activation within the United States in support of federal and state agencies.

Command Leadership and Unit Structure

Maj. Gen. John Rueger is the 35th Infantry Division commanding general.  Brig. Gen. Martin Clay is the deputy commanding general - Operations.  Brig. Gen. Nicholas Jaskolski is the deputy commanding general - Sustainment.  Col. Larry Leupold serves as the division chief of staff. Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Istas is the senior enlisted leader.

The 35th Infantry Division is one of 8 divisions in the National Guard and one of 18 divisions in the Army. The 35th Infantry Division maintains a division alignment with the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Arkansas; 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma; 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Texas; 230th Sustainment Brigade, Tennessee; 35th Combat Aviation Brigade, Missouri; and the 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Missouri.

View biography for Major General John W. Rueger (PDF).

2022 Unit Highlights

The Soldiers of the 35th Infantry Division began the year with premobilization training for deployment at Camp Clark and Camp Crowder, Missouri, in early January. Division Soldiers conducted weapons qualification and training in a simulated combat environment to set the foundation for deployment operations.

The division conducted mobilization training at Fort Hood, Texas, Jan. 22-March 5. Multiple training exercises led to a culminating 10-day training event that prepared the division for overseas deployment in support of Operation Spartan Shield. The division arrived in Kuwait March 8 and completed the transfer of authority March 20, assuming control of Task Force Spartan from the 29th Infantry Division.

For the second time since 2017, the 35th Infantry Division deployed as the headquarters for Task Force Spartan. Its mission is to deter aggression, provide stability, and build partnerships throughout the Middle East. Task Force Spartan is the primary combat element for U.S. Army Central and Operation Spartan Shield is the combat reserve for U.S. Central Command, ready to react to multiple contingencies throughout the Middle East.

The 35th Infantry Division provided command and control of more than 5,000 active-duty, Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers from nine separate subordinate task forces. That included Army National Guard armor and field artillery brigades and an infantry battalion, an Army Reserve engineer brigade, as well as an active-duty infantry battalion and security forces assistance battalion. The 35th Infantry Division provided leadership to Task Force Spartan Soldiers dispersed throughout Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and other locations.

The division participated in numerous training exercises throughout the region, such as medical training, emergency deployment readiness exercises, combined arms live-fires, senior noncommissioned officer symposiums, platoon immersion and multiple subject matter exchanges. Eager Lion 22, hosted in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, was the division’s culminating training exercise that included over 4,000 personnel from 28 participating countries. The unit returned to Kansas in November.