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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— The first woman general in the Louisiana National Guard retired this month and her colleagues held a ceremony in her honor.

Maj. Gen. Joanne F. Sheridan retired from the Louisiana National Guard after 38 years of military and state service.

She was honored at the Adjutant General’s Office at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans.

Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Joanne F. Sheridan’s husband and father remove her old rank and replace it with the new rank of Maj. Gen at the Ansel M. Stroud Military History & Weapons Museum at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, July 23, 2017. In her new role as the assistant adjutant general, she now serves serves as a principal advisor to the adjutant general. She is responsible for assisting the adjutant general in the deployment and coordination of programs, policies, and plans for the LANG. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Josiah Pugh)

According to a National Guard news release, Sheridan became the first female general officer in the Louisiana National Guard in 2012, and she went on to become the first female two-star general officer in 2017.

During the ceremony, Sheridan was recongnized for all her accomplishments throughout the years.

She served many roles such as:

  • Director – Legislative Affairs
  • Assistant Adjutant-General – Army
  • Vice Chief of the Joint Staff
  • Director of Personnel and Manpower
  • 199th Regiment Commander
  • 415th Military Intelligence Battalion Commander

Sheridan expressed her bittersweet emotions, “I am leaving here, after 38 years in Louisiana, with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.”