A brief, unscripted act of kindness by a Minnesota-based content creator has drawn unexpected national attention after it emerged that the uniformed soldier he encountered was a senior U.S. Army commander overseeing one of the military’s most significant installations in the Upper Midwest.
The post was shared by Josh Liljenquist, a social media personality with more than 10 million followers on TikTok and a large audience across other platforms. Liljenquist is widely known for documenting spontaneous acts of kindness, including encounters with homeless individuals, struggling families, and everyday Americans facing hardship — content that routinely reaches millions of viewers within hours.
In this instance, Liljenquist described how he gave up a charging spot at a Tesla station for a man in an Army uniform and struck up a conversation while they waited. The post emphasized gratitude for military service and personal family connections to past wars, including Vietnam and Desert Storm. As with much of Liljenquist’s content, the interaction was presented as a quiet, human moment — not a viral stunt — yet it quickly spread across social media due to his massive following.
What Liljenquist did not realize at the time was that the soldier he met was Major General Joseph A. Ricciardi, a two-star general in the U.S. Army Reserve and a senior commander responsible for overseeing one of the Army’s largest mobilization and training installations in the region.
Ricciardi assumed command of the 88th Readiness Division in July 2024. While the division maintains historical and administrative ties to Fort Snelling — a former Army post located within the Twin Cities metro area just southeast of downtown Minneapolis — Ricciardi’s primary command responsibilities are centered at Fort McCoy, a sprawling installation roughly 150 miles from Minneapolis that serves as the largest Army training and mobilization hub in the region.
In addition to leading the 88th Readiness Division, Ricciardi serves as the senior commander of Fort McCoy, making him the top military authority for an installation routinely used to house, train, and sustain large numbers of active-duty, Reserve, and National Guard forces.
At the time of the encounter, there is no indication Ricciardi was engaged in any official activity related to Minnesota. Senior officers routinely travel between installations, and Fort Snelling’s proximity to Minneapolis has long made it a focal point for Army Reserve leadership functions, ceremonies, and administrative coordination in the Upper Midwest.
The chance encounter surfaced as Minnesota remains under heightened national scrutiny following unrest and protests in Minneapolis and surrounding areas.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed that approximately 1,500 active-duty Army soldiers from two infantry battalions assigned to the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division were placed on prepare-to-deploy status for a possible Minnesota mission. Defense officials emphasized that the move reflected contingency planning and that no deployment had been ordered.
While the 88th Readiness Division does not command active-duty forces or direct domestic operations, its mission includes managing installations, facilities, and base operations across 19 northwestern states. If active-duty troops were deployed to the region, Reserve-managed infrastructure — particularly at Fort McCoy — could support logistics such as housing coordination, sustainment facilities, and staging areas, even though operational control would remain elsewhere.
Defense officials have not indicated whether Fort McCoy or other Army Reserve facilities would be used in connection with the current contingency planning, and there is no indication Ricciardi or the 88th Readiness Division is involved in any deployment decision-making or law-enforcement activity.
There is also no evidence that the encounter between the influencer and Ricciardi was connected to military planning or unrest in the Twin Cities. Still, the timing has drawn attention — highlighting how senior military leaders tied to major installations near population centers can move through public spaces largely unnoticed.
What began as a simple post about courtesy and respect has inadvertently placed a spotlight on the often unseen infrastructure and leadership that sit just outside the public eye as debates over security, federal authority, and military readiness continue to unfold.
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