Illinois State University s Army Reserve Officers Training Corps
(ROTC) will hold its Spring 2007 commissioning ceremony at 2 p.m. on Friday,
May 11, in the University s Performing Arts Center Theatre.
Ten cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army during the ceremony. General Wayne A. Downing, U.S. Army (Retired), will be the guest speaker for the event. Downing currently serves as chairman of the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Cadets being commissioned are: Danielle Lynn DeMent, Kankakee; Philip L. Drake, Danville; Jeremy Glenn Dugena, Gilberts; Matthew J. Frost, Georgetown; Bridget A. Karns, Bloomington; Nicholas J. Miller, Moline; Benjamin Joseph Mosko, Vernon Hills; Tom Robideau, Arlington Heights; Andy Sadoun, Normal; and Matthew E. Zelasko, Norridge.
General Downing served in a variety of command assignments, culminating in his appointment as the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command. As a general officer, he commanded the special operations of all services during the 1989 invasion of Panama and led a joint special operations task force operating deep behind Iraqi lines during Operation Desert Storm.
Following retirement, he 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 to 2000, General Downing was a member of the National Commission on Terrorism 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.
Downing most recently served in the White House as national director and deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism. As the President s principal advisor on matters related to combating terrorism, he was responsible for the close coordination among the military, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, information, and financial operations of the war on terror, and for developing and executing a strategy that integrated all elements of national power.
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