The N.C. National Guard will pin a star on its first female brigadier general on Wednesday.

Elizabeth Dickens Austin of Willow Spring will be promoted during a 2 p.m. ceremony at the Guard's new Joint Force Headquarters building off Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh.

Dickens, a career logistics officer, will become the assistant adjutant general for the Guard, serving as the principal adviser to Adjutant Gen. Gregory Lusk on plans and policies. She also will chair the Guard's Equal Employment Opportunity Council and work on recruiting and retention, international programs, budget issues, and equipment and personnel readiness.

Austin has served more than 32 years in the N.C. National Guard and commanded troops at the platoon, company and battalion levels before taking command of the 113th Sustainment Brigade headquarters in Greensboro in November 2008. She deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and to Iraq in 2004.