Minnesota's "super soldier" visited Austin Monday.

Major General Eugene R. Andreotti is the adjutant general for the state.

He made the training and activity community center (TACC) of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division's Company B-(434th main support battalion) his Austin headquarters Monday during a fast-moving tour of the city.

Wherever Andreotti went, the image of the National Guard got spit-shined by the state's super soldier himself.

"The Minnesota National guard is one of the top three Army National Guards in the entire country," the general said. "and the Minnesota Air National Guard is the tops in the nation."

As the adjutant general, Andreotti, a 2-star general, is the military chief of staff to Governor Jesse Ventura and commands the more than 12,000 members of the Minnesota Air and Army National Guard.

The command includes an infantry division, headquarters and several major subordinate organizations, a brigade-size composite unit, an Army garrison unit and two major flying units.

The military installations at Camp Ripley and Air National Guard bases at St. Paul and Duluth are also under his authority.

According to Andreotti, the state's high state of readiness is part National Guard work ethic and all pride.

"First off, the families of our National Guard soldiers are very supportive of what these soldiers do and so are their employers. We have very understanding employers who allow our soldiers to focus on their military job when they are training or called up to serve," Andreotti said.

"Also, we enjoy a very positive relationship with the Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Ventura," he said. "When you combine all of these factors, you understand why the Minnesota National Guard is tops."

The National Guard will take delivery of Black Hawk helicopter gun ships soon and already has M1A1 and Bradley A-2 tanks in its arsenal.

A year from now, National Guard soldiers will deploy to Kosovo, the Sinai Desert and Kuwait.

Also, the National Guard stays fresh from the inside out, according to Andreotti, who said the transition of Guard units

in May 2000 is complete and has been successful.

There are more females in the National Guard than ever before, 21 percent today.

The renewed sense of pride comes, in part, from the events of Sept. 11, 2001, according to Andreotti. "We had people calling us and saying they wanted to serve their country," the general said.

In addition., the Minnesota National guard enjoys

a tradition of pride. One-third of the soldiers serving today have relatives who previously served.

Evidence of that came in the form of PFC Brad Bergan, present at the TACC Monday. Bergan's father, recently promoted full-Col. Stan Bergan of LeRoy, returned March 16 from a deployment to Zagreb, Croatia as a member of the Army National Guard..

"Those are the kind of soldiers we're proud to have in the Army," Andreotti said.

Lt.-Col Gary Olson, public affairs officer,

and Major Dirk Klos accompanied the adjutant general on the visit to Austin. The trip included visits with Mower County and city of Austin officials, including public safety officials as well as stops at Austin Public Schools and Pacelli High School, the mid-day meeting of Austin Rotary Club and visits with officials from Hormel Foods Corporation and the Sears Roebuck & Co. store at OakPark mall. The latter are two of the local employers of National Guard soldiers.

A native of St. Paul , the general began his military career in 1965, when he joined the Minnesota Air national Guard's 133rd tactical airlift wing. He rose steadily through the ranks, taking on new and additional responsibilities along the way and earning commendations/

He is both a command and instructional pilot with more than 5,000 hours in civilian and military aircraft His civic affiliations are dominate by military organizations and his civilian work experience includes sales, marketing and communication.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com)