The top military leader of the North Carolina National Guard is soon leaving the post he's held most of this decade.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced this week that Major Gen. Greg Lusk is retiring this winter. Lusk has been a North Carolina guardsman for 40 years and was appointed the guard's 40th adjutant general in 2010.

Lusk leads nearly 12,000 uniformed service members and 1,800 federal and state employees. The guard's most high-profile role occurs when it responds to North Carolina natural disasters like hurricanes. Lusk said in a statement that he was also proud of guard soldiers and airmen serving on deployments around the world.

Cooper's office, the Department of Public Safety and guard leadership will start the process to identify a qualified replacement for the post.