Wayne Allan Downing (May 10, 1940 – July 18, 2007) was a four-star United States Army general born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Centr ...

. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from Tulane University. NBC Nightly News, Western Edition, September 27, 2007 He also served on the board of directors at a private military 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 A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

, Fort Benning, 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, Tulane University, 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, Washington, D.C. *Mar 75 – Dec 76 Battalion S-3 Officer / Executive Officer, 75th Infantry (Ranger), Fort Stewart, 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, 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, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operati ...

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 The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russ ...

, 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 Ranger units during the Vietnam War and the early 1980s and then the headquarters for the Ranger bat ...

which was converted to

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgi ...

, Fort Benning, GA *Nov 85 – Jun 87 Deputy Commanding General, 1st Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, 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 Ar ...

, MacDill Air Force Base, FL *May 88 – Dec 89 Deputy Chief of Staff (Training),

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...

, Fort Monroe, VA *Dec 89 – Aug 91 Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command, 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, 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 for combating terrorism. He reported to then-

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

Condoleezza Rice 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 as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...

. 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, homela ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. 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 technolog ...

and a senior executive with

Science Applications International Corporation Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Inc. is an American technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia that provides government services and information technology support. History The original SAIC was created in 196 ...

(SAIC). He also performed various speaking engagements. Besides working for the US government in his retiree years, he also worked for NBC News as a military analyst. In 2006, he received the United States Military Academy's 2006 Distinguished Graduate Award. Downing died on July 18, 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, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

and was buried in the West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York on September 27, 2007. His grave is just north of the main cemetery building. On September 24, 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 General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport is a civil/military public airport five miles west of Peoria, in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. It is on the northwest edge of Bartonville, near Bellevue. It is owned by the Metro ...

Awards and decorations

Downing's awards and decorations include: 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 progres ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Wayne 1940 births 2007 deaths Deaths from meningitis United States Military Academy alumni Tulane University alumni United States Army generals People 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) Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) 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 Military personnel from Illinois United States Deputy National Security Advisors United States Army personnel of the Gulf War 20th-century American journalists American male journalists