Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame

Major General James F. Rueger was born on 14 September 1937 in Axtell, Kansas. His military career began when he enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard in 1957 in the 154th Field Artillery, serving as an enlisted member until 1962. He was mobilized in 1961 during the Berlin Crisis and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. In 1962, General Rueger graduated from the Kansas Army National Guard Officer Candidate School, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 250th Ordnance Company. His commands include Company, Battalion, Brigade and Assistant Division Commander, 35th Division. General Rueger was mobilized in 1968 for duty in Vietnam and served as Commander of the 377th Light Maintenance Company near Cam Ron Bay.

In 1990, General Rueger was appointed the Adjutant General of Kansas. While Adjutant General, Rueger brought expansion to facilities, new programs and modern equipment to the Kansas National Guard. The facilities included are armories, creating the Leadership Development Center at Fort Leavenworth, a one of a kind automatic tank wash facility at Fort riley, completely relocating the Regional Graining Center at Salina to a State-of-the-Art Facility and coordinating efforts to break ground for the Kansas National Guard Museum. New programs were the Drug Demand Reduction Program and Partnership for Peace Program with the Ukraine. The Starbase Program was also developed. Other programs include the Retroeurope Equipment Rebuild Site, M1 Tank Engine Rebuild Site and Major expansion of the General Support Maintenance Facility at Fort Riley.





			MG JAMES F. RUEGER
	Major General James F. Rueger was born on 14 September 1937 in Axtell, Kansas. His military career began when he enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard in 1957 in the 154th Field Artillery, serving as an enlisted member until 1962. He was mobilized in 1961 during the Berlin Crisis and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. In 1962, General Rueger graduated from the Kansas Army National Guard Officer Candidate School, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 250th Ordnance Company. His commands include Company, Battalion, Brigade and Assistant Division Commander, 35th Division. General Rueger was mobilized in 1968 for duty in Vietnam and served as Commander of the 377th Light Maintenance Company near Cam Ron Bay. In 1990, General Rueger was appointed the Adjutant General of Kansas. While Adjutant General, Rueger brought expansion to facilities, new programs and modern equipment to the Kansas National Guard. The facilities included are armories, creating the Leadership Development Center at Fort Leavenworth, a one of a kind automatic tank wash facility at Fort riley, completely relocating the Regional Graining Center at Salina to a State-of-the-Art Facility and coordinating efforts to break ground for the Kansas National Guard Museum. New programs were the Drug Demand Reduction Program and Partnership for Peace Program with the Ukraine. The Starbase Program was also developed. Other programs include the Retroeurope Equipment Rebuild Site, M1 Tank Engine Rebuild Site and Major expansion of the General Support Maintenance Facility at Fort Riley. New equipment and weapons systems include the B-1 Bomber, the M1-IP Abrams Tank, the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), the Paladin Howitzer (Kansas Being the first state to receive the Paladin in a National Guard Battalion), the UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter and the Palletized Load System. General Rueger served on numerous national boards including then National Guard Safety and Occupational Health Committee, National Interagency Counterdrug Institute and Vice President of the Adjutants’ General Association of the United States. He also served on the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee and Chaired the 35th Division Council, made up of six states. Rueger was one of two State Adjutants General to be selected as a Member of the Total Army Analysis General Officer Study Advisory Group. He also served for six years as the Area IV Adjutants General Representative on the National Guard Association of the United States Executive council. General Rueger’s awards include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, and the Valley Forge Cross for Heroism and numerous other Federal and State awards. General Rueger’s civic activities include Life Membership in the VFW, member of the American Legion and Chairman of the Local Economic Development Committee. He is a member of the Military order of World Wars, Board of Governors of the Guise/Weber Foundation, the Kansas National Guard OCS Hall of Fame, Board of Governors and president of the Major General James F. and Kathryn Reuger Foundation. He was inducted into the Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame, 7 November 2004.