responsible for all operations and training within the Army Guard. He would next serve as Chief of the Joint Staff for the Joint Force Headquarters in May 2003. By December 2004, Colonel Deering was reassigned to 45th Infantry Brigade and assumed command of the entire brigade as a brigadier general (with promotion in February 2005). Within months of assuming command of the 45th Infantry Brigade, General Deering was deployed to New Orleans as commander of the Oklahoma National Guard's Joint Task Force following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Upon his arrival, he assumed command over 15,500 Army, National Guard, and Marine personnel providing disaster relief operations and support. In October 2007, General Deering and the 45th Infantry Brigade were deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served as the commander, Joint Area Support Group – Central for Multi-National Force – Iraq. He returned in November 2008 and was promoted to major general on November 13, 2008, with his assignment as director, manpower and personnel (J-1) at the National Guard Bureau in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He was appointed as the Adjutant General of the Oklahoma National Guard in February 2009. Henry administration On February 3, 2009, Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry appointed General Deering to become the Adjutant General of Oklahoma. In that position, Deering is responsible for the operations and has command over all aspects of the Oklahoma Army and Air National Guard. Fallin administration On December 10, 2010, Governor-elect Mary Fallin announced that she would retain General Deering under her administration in both of his positions as secretary of the military and as adjutant general. Personal life Deering received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from the University of Oklahoma in 1980. He also received a Master of Science degree in Natural and Applied Sciences from Oklahoma State University in 1996 and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College in 2000. Dates of ranks Decorations and badges References External links Official National Guard Bureau biography 1953 births Living people United States Army generals National Guard (United States) generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit State cabinet secretaries of Oklahoma United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Military leaders of the Iraq War University of Oklahoma alumni Oklahoma State University alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)