This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SGM Mike Vining
to remember
Downing, Wayne Allan, GEN USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Last Address Peoria
Date of Passing Jul 18, 2007
Location of Interment U.S. Military Academy West Point Post Cemetery (VLM) - West Point, New York
Wall/Plot Coordinates Section XVIII, Row D, Site 032
General Downing's West Point ring was severely damaged in an anti-personnel mine explosion while he served in Vietnam. A soldier serving under his command replaced the stone with Chrysocolla, a copper mineral. General Downing wore that very same ring until at least 1995.
Military career
Sep 62 - Feb 63 Student, Infantry Officer Basic and Ranger Course
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), Fort Benning, GA
Nov 85 - Jun 87 Deputy Commanding General, 1st Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, NC
Jun 87 - May 88 Director, Washington Office, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, FL
May 88 - Dec 89 Deputy Chief of Staff (Training), U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, 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 (USSOCOM), 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."[2]. He held the title of National Director and Deputy National Security Adviser for combating terrorism. He reported to then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security director Tom Ridge. From 2003 until his death he held the Distinguished Chair at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
In 2006 he received the United States Military Academy's 2006 Distinguished Graduate Award.
General Downing died on July 18, 2007, of meningitis.
General Downing 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 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.
Other Comments:
"General Wayne A. Downing, U.S. Army (Retired) is a highly decorated combat veteran who retired after a 34-year career in the U.S. Army. While on active duty he served in a variety of command assignments in infantry, armored, special operations, and joint units, culminating in his appointment as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command. He commanded the special operations of all services during the 1989 invasion of Panama and commanded a joint special operations task force operating deep behind the Iraqi lines during Operation DESERT STORM. Following retirement, General Downing was appointed by the President to assess the 1996 terrorist attack on the U.S. base at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and to make recommendations on how to protect Americans and U.S. facilities worldwide from terrorist attack. From 1999-2000, General Downing served as member of the congressionally mandated National Commission on Terrorism (the Bremer Commission) charged with examining the terrorist threat to the US, evaluating America's laws, policies, and practices for preventing and punishing terrorism directed at US citizens, and recommending corrective actions. Most recently, General Downing served in the White House as National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism (Department of Homeland Security). As the President's principal advisor on matters related to combating terrorism, he was responsible for coordinating, developing and executing a strategy that draws on and integrates all elements of national power."
On June 27, 2002, the White House announced that General Wayne A. Downing, U.S. Army (Ret.) had resigned his position as Deputy Assistant to the President, National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism:
"Coming out of retirement, General Downing joined the National Security Council staff in October, 2001 with a mandate to organize and staff the NSC's Office of Combating Terrorism and the Office of Homeland Security's Intelligence and Detection Directorate following the attacks of September 11.
"In this position, General Downing coordinated the military, diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence, financial, and strategic information activities designed to deter, disrupt, and destroy terrorists and those who harbor, protect, or support them. He also worked with the Office of Homeland Security to ensure that our national counterterrorism efforts, domestic and international, are seamless."
Military service
A biographical note states that Downing "retired from active service in the military in 1996 after a distinguished 34-year career in the U.S. Army. He served two combat tours in Vietnam as a junior infantry officer. His career included commands in infantry, armored, airborne, special operation and joint units. He commanded all U.S. special operations forces during the 1989 invasion of Panama and commanded a joint special operations task force during the first Gulf War. General Downing culminated his career as Commander in Chief of the U.S Special Operations Command, where he was responsible for all special operations forces in the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force."
