Maryland adjutant general retires after 37 years of service
By Maj. Benjamin Hughes
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – The 30th adjutant general of Maryland retired after after 37 years of service at the Patuxent Naval Air Museum, April 30, 2023.
Maj. Gen. Timothy S. Gowen stepped down as commander of the Maryland National Guard after serving in the senior military position, which he was appointed to by former Gov. Larry Hogan in September 2019.
“It is an historic position as the 30th adjutant general and the Maryland National Guard is an historic organization, so to be atop of it for a few years is awesome,” said Gowen. “We’ve done incredible things in my three and a half years as TAG.”
Gowen was instrumental in leading the Maryland Military Department, which is composed of the Maryland Army and Air National Guard, and the Maryland Defense Force. During his tenure, he oversaw the department’s response to major domestic emergencies, including the Covid-19 pandemic, a deployment to the U.S. Capitol following the January 6 riot, protests across the state in 2020 and responses to natural disasters.
During his tenure, the Maryland National Guard also carried out federal overseas deployments, including both combat deployments and training exercises, as well as military cooperation with Estonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina through the National Guard’s State Partnership Program.
Prior to leading nearly 7,000 Maryland National Guard members, Defense Force volunteers, and civilian employees, he was the Army National Guard Deputy Commanding General of the Army Futures Command. Gowen was also employed in a civilian capacity as an aerospace engineer at Patuxent River Naval Air Station for 25 years when he was named assistant adjutant general of the Maryland Army National Guard in 2015.
Gowen’s military career included deployments to lead the National Guard’s Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot task force in Kuwait from 2006-2007 and with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia from 1990-91. He was awarded numerous awards and decorations during his notable career, including the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals and two Meritorious Service Medals.
“This uniform is part of me. It really is,” said Gowen. “I’m just so appreciative of being able to be part of this great team and it’s gonna be hard to walk away, and I guess that’s a sign of how awesome it is. But everything that I’ve ever done that was a lot of fun, great, or had meaning, I can trace back to this uniform and being in the Army. That’s something I’m going to take with me and we’ll see where I go next.”
Gowen is a Philadelphia native who attended Temple University and then Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to become a test pilot. He was commissioned in the Army through ROTC in 1986.
He is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, who is also an aerospace engineer, their three children, and their horses.