Army Col. Jason Benson of West Fargo, N.D., was promoted to brigadier general on January 13th in St. Paul, Minn.  Benson has been a member of the U.S. Army and the Minnesota National Guard for more than 34 years.  He has served on four combat and peacekeeping deployments and was stationed in Germany while on active duty in the late 1990s. Since May 2000, he has worked at the Cass County Highway Department and has served as the Cass County Engineer since 2011.

His promotion to brigadier general comes with his assignment as the Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver for the 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls” headquartered out of Arden Hills, Minn. The 34th Infantry Division Headquarters is mobilizing in early February and deploying as part of a routine schedule of National Guard Divisions to the Middle East as part of Operation Spartan Shield. The division will be assuming the authority of Task Force Spartan.

Task Force Spartan is a unique, multi-component organization comprising active-duty Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve units that support Operation Spartan Shield, led by U.S. Army Central Command in the Southwest Asia region. For the 34th Infantry Division, that means overseeing the capabilities provided by these units, whether that be force protection, aviation, logistics, information management, and facilitating activities for theater security cooperation by strengthening defense relationships through a range of ventures with our regional partners.

Benson will be deployed through 2024 and is expected to return to his duties as the Cass County Engineer in early 2025. While deployed, Deputy Cass County Engineer Tom Soucy will serve as the interim County Engineer.

A link to view a recording of the promotion ceremony can be found here.