Devils Lake, ND — Col. Leo Ryan, of Jamestown, ND, will be promoted to brigadier general at 2 p.m. Thurs Oct 18, during a ceremony at Camp Grafton Training Center, near Devils Lake.  Ryan assumed command of the North Dakota Guard’s Land Component Command last month.

The promotion ceremony at Camp Grafton Training Center will be open to the public. Family, friends and media will be granted access to attend. Civilian visitors will be asked to present a government-issued ID at the gate. Beyond the gate, signs will direct visitors to the ceremony.

Brig. Gen. Robert Becklund, the North Dakota deputy adjutant general, will preside over the ceremony.

Ryan brings more than three decades of experience to his new assignment as land component commander. He enlisted in 1985 as a bridge crewman with the 957th Engineering Company. He graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1992 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He has held a number of leadership positions throughout his military career, to include commanding the Grand Forks-based 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment; the N.D. Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School and the 164th Regiment Regional Training Institute, both at Camp Grafton.

Ryan twice has served overseas during federal mobilizations. In 1990, he deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as a squad leader with the 132nd Quartermaster Company. He deployed again in 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the executive officer for the 164th Engineer Battalion.

In his civilian profession, Ryan is an owner and practicing attorney of Dalsted and Ryan, P.C., which has offices in Jamestown and Carrington, North Dakota.  He is also the Attorney for the City of Jamestown.

The main gate is located approximately 5 miles south of Devils Lake, along N.D. Highway 20. The entrance is identified along Highway 20 with a sign that reads “Camp Gilbert C. Grafton.” The entrance is one mile north of the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 57 and approximately 3/4 mile south of the intersection of Highway 20 and 45th Street.