La. Guard promotes New Orleans resident to general officer

By Staff Sgt. Josiah Pugh, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana Army National Guardsman Thomas C. Friloux was promoted to the rank of brigadier general during an official ceremony at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Baton Rouge, Sept. 11.

Brig. Gen. Friloux currently serves as the Louisiana National Guard’s director of the joint staff, where he advises the adjutant general and assists in the deployment and coordination of programs, policies and plans for the LANG.

“The magnitude of this day is pretty significant,” said Brig. Gen. Keith Waddell, adjutant general of the LANG. “When you look at the entirety of the Army National Guard, there are 321,000 soldiers that serve in all the states and territories across the entire United States. Of those 321,000 soldiers, only 183 of them will ever achieve the rank of brigadier general.”

Friloux enlisted in the LAARNG in 1988 and was promoted to the rank of sergeant before graduating from Officer Candidate School in 1992. He has served on numerous deployments supporting: Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, Operations Iraqi Freedom II, III and X, and Operation New Dawn.

Friloux held a number of command positions including commander of the 2-156th Infantry Battalion, 256th Infantry Brigade, better known as Steel Lightning.

“Every day I’m in uniform is another great day,” said Friloux. “I look forward to building readiness in the Louisiana National Guard with you [Waddell] in the future.”

Some of his awards and decorations include: the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Louisiana War Cross, the Louisiana Legion of Merit, the Louisiana Cross of Merit, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, the Air Assault Badge and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge.

Friloux and his wife, the former Laurie Anne Spadoni, reside in New Orleans, and have four children: Madison, Dylan, Zachary and Nicholas.