James Lettko, a 1984 graduate of Clarkson University and the Clarkson Reserve Officer Training Corps program, has been promoted to brigadier general.

Lettko has been assigned to serve as Deputy Commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo. He was promoted to one–star general by Major General Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of New York, in a Sept. 30 ceremony at the New York State Armory in Troy.

Prior to his promotion on Sept. 30, he had been serving as the Chief of Staff for the 10,500- member New York Army National Guard.

Lettko joined the Army in 1984 following his commissioning as a 2nd lieutenant from the Clarkson University Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He served on Active Duty in Germany from 1984 to 1987 and joined the New York Army National Guard in 1987.

Along with a Bachelor of Science from Clarkson he holds an Associate Degree in Applied Science, Transportation and Distribution Management from Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. He also holds a Master's of Science in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College and has attended the Joint Task Force Commanders Training Course at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the National Security Management Course taught at Syracuse University.

He served in assignments at National Guard Headquarters in Latham and at the Glenmore Road Armory in Troy before moving to the Buffalo area to serve as a full-time member of the Army National Guard in the Active Guard and Reserve Program in May 1989.

A combat engineer officer, Lettko has served in a number of command and staff positions to include: A, Headquarters Detachment Commander for the 221st Engineer Group, Assistant Division Engineer for the 42nd Infantry Division, Operations officer and Commander of the 152nd Engineer Battalion, Executive Officer of the 42nd Engineer Brigade, Executive Officer of Joint Forces Headquarters- New York, Director of Military Personnel for the New York Army National Guard, and Chief of Staff of the New York Army National Guard.

He served in Kuwait and Iraq from November 2004 to November 2005 as the Assistant Division Engineer for the 42nd Infantry Division and the Officer in Charge of the Regional Reconstruction Operations Center in Tikrit, Iraq.

His awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal and the Meritorious Unit Citation.

He and his wife Karen, who live in Malta, Saratoga County, have two adult children. Their daughter, Kathryn, is a Captain in the New York Army National Guard working in the logistics section of Joint Force Headquarters, New York; and their son, Michael is a former Marine.