Major General Michael Garshak retired in June after 37 years of service, more than 30 of which were with the Idaho National Guard.
In 2017, then-Governor Butch Otter appointed Garshak as the Adjutant General, the leader of the Idaho National Guard and it was a title he carried until retiring this past summer.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"A lot has changed over 37 years, but the one thing that remained constant is the amazing quality of people you work with in the military," said Garshak. "If you can imagine going to work everyday for 37 years and knowing you can trust [coworkers] with your life— that is extremely powerful."
Ahead of Veterans Day, I wanted to chat with Garshak about his service as it started in 1987 when he earned his helicopter pilot wings at Fork Rucker Flight School in Alabama. During his first assignment, Garshak fought in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a first Lieutenant.
"Looking back on my career, I considered it fortunate [that] I got to deploy in my first assignment to a combat zone," said Garshak. "It helped me prioritize where to put my time and energy throughout the rest of my career which was really important."
Major General Michael Garshak led the Idaho National Guard through the pandemic, civil unrest in our country, and helped oversee several deployments as Adjutant General.
"The Idaho National Guard has three primary missions," said Garshak. "It’s to maintain readiness to be the combat reserve for the Army and the Air Force, maintain a high level of readiness to respond to domestic emergencies when needed, and build partnerships and relationships with all the organizations that help us be successful."
The Idaho National Guard successfully performed these missions during Garshak's leadership whether it was sending troops to Washington D.C. to help with security during the Presidential Inauguration, helping the health districts as COVID spread, and helping staff Idaho's prisons when they became short-staffed during the pandemic.
"Fortunately, we have the kind of people serving in the guard who look forward to those opportunities," said Garshak. "So we had more than enough people willing to step up."
Since retiring Michael and his wife Dina have taken a trip to Europe, the general is working on his golf game, and he took a fishing trip this week to Hell's Canyon. He looks forward to retirement but will miss the people he served with.
"It was very rewarding to the Adjutant General made up with such amazing people," said Garshak.
Major General Timothy Donnellan has taken over as the Adjutant General. He was appointed by Governor Brad Little after Garshak retired in June.
