Maj. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff (M.S. Logistics Management, 2004), Ohio adjutant general, stands while his wife, Lindsay, places the rank insignia of major general on his shoulder epaulettes, as Gov. Mike DeWine looks on during Woodruff’s promotion ceremony at the Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler Armory in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 27, 2026. Woodruff has served as adjutant general since May 2025. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Olivia Lauer, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brig. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff (M.S. Logistics Management, 2004), Ohio adjutant general, was promoted to the rank of major general during a ceremony on 27 February 2026 at the Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler Armory. Governor Mike DeWine was the presiding official. 

Woodruff, adjutant general since May 2025, serves as a member of the governor’s cabinet and is responsible for the administration and command oversight of the Ohio Army National Guard, Ohio Air National Guard, and State Defense Force. The adjutant general supervises the heads of these components in the day-to-day operation and management of the readiness, fiscal, personnel, equipment, and real property resources of the agency. 

Prior to his current assignment, Woodruff most recently served as the Ohio assistant adjutant general for Army, with previous assignments as Ohio Army National Guard chief of staff and commander of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team — including four months as the initial joint task force commander for Ohio’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and as the dual-status commander for hospital response missions in 2021-22. 

Brig. Gen. Matthew S. Woodruff, incoming Ohio adjutant general, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pose for a photo with the document appointing Woodruff as adjutant general before a ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, May 30, 2025. Woodruff, the 84th Ohio adjutant general, previously served as the assistant adjutant general for Army. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Olivia Lauer, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs)

Woodruff commanded the 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment in addition to serving in several key staff positions in the Ohio Army National Guard to include the assistant operations officer, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, at Camp Mike Spann, Afghanistan. He served on active duty from May 1996 to December 2008, with assignments in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. 

Woodruff holds a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Bowling Green State University, a Master of Science in logistics management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.