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Former EADS Commander Promoted to Brigadier General

  • Published
  • By Tim Jones
  • EADS Public Affairs
ROME, NY --  The former Commander at the Eastern Air Defense Sector was promoted to Brigadier General in the New York Air National Guard during a short ceremony on March 8.

Brigadier General Dawne L. Deskins was promoted by Maj. Gen. Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General, New York. Deskins next assignment will be working as the Special Assistant, Sexual Assault and Prevention, to the Director of the Air National Guard, Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke III.

In her new position Deskins will be spearheading the sexual assault prevention and response program for the 100,000-member Air National Guard.

A graduate of Skaneateles High School and Ithaca College, Deskins was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1984 through the Air Force ROTC program at Cornell University. She served on active duty until 1995 when she returned to New York and joined what was then the Northeast Air Defense Sector.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 Deskins, was overseeing Northeast Air Defense Sector personnel engaged in a routine air defense exercise. When the events of that day evolved--the hijacking of four aircraft with the hijackers crashing them into the Pentagon and the World Trades Center buildings--Deskins played a key role in the military response.

In the official 9/11 Commission report the personnel Deskins led that day are credited with responding well to a confusing set of circumstances.

Deskins is the third woman to be promoted to general in the New York Air National Guard.

Retired Major General Irene Trowell-Harris, a nurse, joined the New York Air National Guard in 1963 and became a one-star general in 1993. Retired Brigadier General Esther Rada joined the New York Air National Guard in 1987 and became a general officer in 2005.

After joining the Air Force in 1984, Deskins attended Air Weapons Controller training at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, For the next 10 years, she served in a variety of assignments at the Northwest Air Defense Sector at McChord Air Force Base, Washington and at the 3625th Technical Training Squadron and 21st Test and Evaluation Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Fla..

In 1995, Deskins separated from active duty Air Force and joined the New York Air National Guard and what was then known as the Northeast Air Defense Sector.

She several leadership positions at NEADS including Mission Crew Commander, Flight Commander, Assistant Director, Sector Operations Control Center and Chief, Exercise and Analysis and Deputy Commander, Support.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Ithaca College, a Masters of Science Degree in Management from Florida State University, and is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.

Her awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award and the Air Force Combat Readiness Medal along with the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal.