Lafrenz will fill Guard’s top post

BOISE – He had no official aspirations, but Brig. Gen. Lawrence Frank Lafrenz’s ascent to the Idaho National Guard’s top job has been in the making since his childhood.

“My dad was in the military, a young lieutenant in World War II,” said Lafrenz, who was named adjutant general by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne on Tuesday.

“As a kid I’d run across his uniform while playing in the attic, and I always knew I wanted to become a commissioned officer,” Lafrenz said.

Lafrenz spent his childhood shuttling between divorced parents in Clarkston and Lewiston. Like many of his classmates at Clarkston High School, he enlisted in the Idaho National Guard when he graduated.

But he never really expected that one day he’d be leading the entire state guard, Lafrenz said.

“I don’t think anybody joins a military organization and thinks they’re going to be an officer,” Lafrenz said. “Quite frankly, I’ve been successful not because of anything I’ve done but because I’ve been in the right place at the right time with the right tools and surrounded by good people who’ve made sure I’ve looked good.”

Lafrenz takes over for retiring Adj. Gen. Jack Kane on Jan. 15 – less than two months after the largest deployment of the Idaho National Guard in state history.

It’s a tough time to take over the position, Lafrenz said.

“Anytime you take over command of an organization, you’re always going to face challenges. Most of us who seek command relish challenge,” he said. “There’s certainly an opportunity to face challenges out there – we’ve got 1,600 soldiers in Idaho deployed in harm’s way. Anyone who knows anything about the military knows there’s a risk of casualties.”

But embracing a challenge does not mean a soldier or his or her commander looks forward to war, Lafrenz said.

“You prepare for war in an attempt to prevent war. We train like we think we’re going to fight. But I don’t think any of us relishes combat against another human being,” he said.

He doesn’t have any major changes planned for the Idaho National Guard.

The soldiers have enough to focus on getting through the next several months.

But he hopes to increase support for the families left behind during the deployment.

“We have got to extend every resource we can possibly muster to take care of the families of deployed soldiers, and do those things that will enhance the bearability of a separation like this. The children, wives and husbands probably have a greater challenge than the soldiers,” he said.

The governor selected Lafrenz out of a pool of four candidates.

“I want this man by my side,” Kempthorne said. “He has proven himself to me time and time again.”

Lafrenz was quick to pass the praise onto others – especially his predecessor Kane, retiring after 44 years of service, and his wife of 36 years, Claudia Lafrenz.

“I hearken back to team sports – an individual of average ability better have help along the way,” Lafrenz said. “I’ve been fortunate to have met a lovely lady who I married in 1968. Every step of the way she’s been a trooper, and without a doubt every reason I’ve been so successful and fortunate is because she made me that way.”

Kane said he’s looking forward to retirement and spending more time at his ranch in Garden Valley.

“It’s a long time, 44 years. It’s been an honor to lead the soldiers of Idaho and sometimes have the soldiers lead me,” he said.

“As one great general once said, ‘I’m just going to fade away and cross the river.’ In my case, it’s the Payette River,” he said.