COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a U.S. Army Reservist, has been activated for duty with the Ohio Army National Guard.
The 46-year-old told our sister station in Cleveland that he was "doing some work" with his unit but could not provide any additional details.
A Northeast Ohio native, LaRose is a decorated Green Beret, receiving the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. After a decade in uniform, he returned home and went to Ohio State. Afterwards, he was elected to the Ohio Senate and later became Secretary of State in 2018.
He rejoined the Army as a reservist in 2021, saying at the time that "being a soldier is part of who I am."
LaRose's activation comes weeks after three servicemembers from Ohio were killed during a refueling mission in Iraq with the 121st Air Refueling Wing.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were in attendance as the remains of Capt. Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville, Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Columbus were received at Dover Air Force Base and returned to their families last week.
While he is away, LaRose will still continue to serve as secretary of state, while the assistant secretary of state works on his behalf if necessary.
Ohio has a primary scheduled for May 5.
