Wayne Allan Downing (10 May 1940 – 18 July 2007) was a four-star

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

general born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas'' for its weeknight broadcasts ) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network ...

, Western Edition, September 27, 2007 He also served on the board of directors at a US Government focused high-tech company, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

Military career

*Sep 62 – Feb 63 Student, Infantry Officer Basic and Ranger Course *Apr 63 – Jun 64 Platoon Leader,

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic respo ...

(Separate) *Jun 64 – Sep 64 Liaison Officer, 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) *Dec 64 – Oct 65 Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vietnam *Oct 65 – Apr 66 S-2/S-5 (Intel/Civil Affairs) Officer, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vietnam *Apr 66 – Aug 67 Instructor, Infantry School,

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, GA *Aug 67 – Jan 68 Company Commander, Infantry Training Center, Fort Benning, GA *Jan 68 – Sep 68 Student, Infantry Officer Advance Course, Infantry School, Fort Benning, GA *Sep 68 – Dec 68 Company Commander, 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam *Dec 68 – Sep 69 Battalion S-3 (Operations) Officer, 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam *Sep 69 – Oct 69 Brigade S-3 (Operations) Officer, 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam *Dec 69 – Jan 72 Graduate Student,

, New Orleans, LA *Feb 72 – Jun 72 Student,

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

, Norfolk, VA *Jun 72 – Feb 75 Senior Operations / Systems Analyst,

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out au ...

, Washington, D.C. *Mar 75 – Dec 76 Battalion S-3 Officer / Executive Officer, 75th Infantry (Ranger),

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties. The nearby city of Hinesville, along with ...

, GA *Dec 76 – Mar 77 Commander, Task Force (Alaska), 24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA *May 77 – Jul 79 Commander, 2nd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry,

Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...

, WA *Aug 79 – May 80 Student,

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

, AL *Jun 80 – Apr 82 Secretary to Joint Staff, European Command, Vaihingen, Germany *May 82 – Apr 84 Commander, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army Europe, Germany *May 84 – Nov 85 Commander,

75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) The 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) (officially 75th Infantry Regiment or 75th Infantry) was initially a parent regiment for all the US Army United States Army Rangers, Ranger units during the Vietnam War and the early 1980s and then the headq ...

which was converted to

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

, GA *Nov 85 – Jun 87 Deputy Commanding General, 1st Special Operations Command,

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

, NC *Jun 87 – May 88 Director, Washington Office,

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States A ...

, MacDill Air Force Base, FL *May 88 – Dec 89 Deputy Chief of Staff (Training), U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command,

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

, VA *Dec 89 – Aug 91 Commanding General,

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC *Aug 91 – Apr 93 Commanding General, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC *May 93 – Feb 96 Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM),

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, FL

Post-9/11

In 2001, Downing came out of retirement to coordinate the national campaign "to detect, disrupt and destroy global terrorist organizations and those who support them." He held the title of National Director and

Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor (United States), N ...

for combating terrorism. He reported to then- National Security Advisor

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

and

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

director

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served in the Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003 and as the U ...

. From 2003 until his death he held the Distinguished Chair at the

Combating Terrorism Center The Combating Terrorism Center is an academic institution at the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York that provides education, research and policy analysis in the specialty areas of terrorism, counterterrorism, homeland ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. Downing was formerly a director of

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...

and a senior executive with

Science Applications International Corporation Science Applications International Corporation, Inc. (SAIC) is an American technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia that provides government services and information technology support. History 20th century The original SAIC was cr ...

(SAIC). He also performed various speaking engagements. Besides working for the US government in his retiree years, he also worked for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

as a military analyst. In 2006, he received the United States Military Academy's 2006 Distinguished Graduate Award. Downing died on 18 July 2007, of

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

and was buried in the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, West Point, New York (state), New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Continental Army s ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

on 27 September 2007. His grave is just north of the main cemetery building. On 24 September 2008, the Metropolitan Authority of Peoria voted unanimously to change the name of the Greater Peoria Regional Airport to the " General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport".

Awards and decorations

Downing's awards and decorations include: When Downing was a Major, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for actions of heroism not involving enemy contact while serving with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Downing also earned the Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation, French Parachutist Badge, 75th Ranger Regiment DUI and Secretary of Defense ID Badge. In 1971, he was reported to have also received the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster for his service in Vietnam. Downing wore these decorations as a major general in 1988 but omitted them as a general.

Civilian career

Downing was on the Board of Directors of SAIC and Chairman of the Special Projects Committee of the corporation.

References

External links

Commemoration for Wayne Downing by NBC News

An interview with General Wayne Downing on WTVP's "Interesting People" Recorded on March 31, 2006

Profile
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Wayne 1940 births 2007 deaths Deaths from meningitis United States Military Academy alumni Tulane University alumni United States Army generals Military personnel from Peoria, Illinois United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Joint Forces Staff College alumni Air War College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) American recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) American recipients of the Legion of Honour American broadcast news analysts Recipients of the Soldier's Medal Burials at West Point Cemetery Colonels of the 75th Ranger Regiment Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Presidential Citizens Medal recipients Neurological disease deaths in Illinois Infectious disease deaths in Illinois Journalists from Illinois United States deputy national security advisors United States Army personnel of the Gulf War 20th-century American journalists American male journalists