RAPID CITY, S.D. – A change of command ceremony for the South Dakota National Guard is scheduled for Saturday, August 5, at 2 p.m. at the Monument Fine Arts Theater.
Brig. Gen. Mark R. Morrell will be promoted to the rank of major general and will assume command as the SDNG’s 23rd Adjutant General from Maj. Gen. Jeffrey P. Marlette, who served in the position since June 2019.
The public is encouraged to attend the event. Gov. Kristi Noem will be in attendance and preside over the ceremony.
Morrell will command the state’s nearly 4,000 South Dakota Air and Army National Guard men and women with over 1,000 full-time federal and state employees. He will be responsible for strategic planning, leader assignment, recruiting, training, equipping, mobilization, facilities, and public relations.
He will serve as a member of Gov. Noem’s cabinet as the Adjutant General. In this capacity, he is responsible to ensure the SDNG Soldiers and Airmen are trained and ready to respond to state and federal missions at any time.
Marlette will retire from the SDNG with over 36 years of military service.