Assistant Adjutant General, Joint Forces Headquarters-Alaska
Brigadier General Deborah C. McManus is dually assigned as the Assistant Adjutant General – Air, Joint Forces Headquarters – Alaska, and the Commander, Alaska Air National Guard. Her responsibilities include commanding over 2000 Alaska National Guard members who support airlift, rescue, aerial refueling, air control, and space warning and surveillance missions as well as deploy within the state and worldwide in support of humanitarian emergencies and national defense.
General McManus was commissioned in 1985 through the Academy of Military Science in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to receiving her commission, General McManus served as an enlisted member of the Washington D.C. and Maryland Air National Guard. General McManus has served in various command positions while assigned to Alaska. Prior to her appointment as the Assistant Adjutant General, General McManus served as the Director of the Joint Staff, providing command and control of National Guard forces in executing homeland defense, defense support to civilian authorities and other domestic emergency missions within the State of Alaska.
General McManus has served on a wide variety of operational deployments to include Coronet Oak, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Northern Watch and Joint Forge. In 2005, General McManus deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad, Iraq as the Director of Operations for Strategic Communications on the Multi-National Force - Iraq.
Education:
- 1977 University of Maryland, Bachelor of Science,
Education, College Park, Maryland
- 1988 Central Michigan , Master of Business Management and Administration, Mount Pleasant, Michigan
- 2001 Air War College, by correspondence, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
Assignments
- November 1985 – August 1987, Executive Support Staff Officer, Maryland Air National Guard, Martin State Airport, Maryland
- September 1987 – March 1989, Personnel Officer, Maryland Air National Guard, Martin State Airport, Maryland
- March 1989 – May 1990, Communications Staff Officer, Air Force Reserve (Individual Mobilization Augmentee)
- May 1990 – February 1997, Aircraft Maintenance Officer, 176th Wing, Kulis Air National Guard Base, Alaska
- October – November 1993, Deployed Logistics/Aircraft Maintenance Officer-In-Charge, Coronet Oak, Howard Air Force Base, Panama
- June – August 1994, Deployed Logistics/Aircraft Maintenance Officer-In-Charge, Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait City, Kuwait
- March 1997 – June 1998, Maintenance Support Flight Commander, 176th Wing, Kulis Air National Guard Base, Alaska
- January – February 1998, Deployed Logistics/Aircraft Maintenance Officer-In-Charge, Operation Northern Watch, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
- June 1998 – November 2001, Logistics Readiness Squadron Commander, 176th Wing, Kulis Air National Guard Base, Alaska
- October – Nov 2000, Deployed Logistics/Aircraft Maintenance Officer-In-Charge, Joint Forge, Sembach Air Base, Germany
- November 2001 – November 2004, Director of Manpower and Personnel, Joint Forces Headquarters - Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska
- November 2004 – October 2007, Director of the Joint Staff, Joint Forces Headquarters - Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska
- February – July 2005, Deployed Chief of Operations Strategic Communications, Multi-National Force - Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
- October 2007 – Present, Assistant Adjutant General - Air, Joint Forces Headquarters - Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska
Major Awards and Decorations
- Meritorious Service Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster)
- Joint Services Commendation Medal
- Air Force Commendation Medal (with 1 oak leaf cluster)
- Air Force Achievement Medal
- Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (with 3 oak leaf clusters)
- Air Force Reserve Meritorious Service Medal (with 1 oak leaf cluster)
- National Defense Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Star)
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Southwest Asia Service Medal (with 1 oak leaf cluster)
- Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
- Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
- Air Force Longevity Service Award (with 3 oak leaf clusters)
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with 1 "M" Device)
- Basic Military Training Honor Graduate
- Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
- Air Force Training Ribbon
CIVILIAN OCCUPATION:
In conjunction with her military career, General McManus has served in the federal civil service since 1981. While assigned to the Headquarters Air National Guard, she was instrumental in publishing the first Air National Guard manpower standards at the national level. As an Operations Research Analyst on the Air Staff from 1985 to 1988, General McManus worked with the RAND Corporation in modeling airbase operability scenarios in the European theater, served as an Advisor to the Air Force Board Personnel Activities Panel, and published a White Paper entitled, "A Methodology for Evaluating Potential Contributions of Wartime Host Nation Support”. She transferred to the Alaska Air Command as Director of the Fiscal Year 92-97 Program Objective Memorandum and then to the Elmendorf Air Force Base as a Child Development Director during national accreditation. She became full-time with the Alaska Air National Guard in 1994.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION:
- Second Lieutenant 7 November 1985
- First Lieutenant 7 November 1987
- Captain 3 February 1991
- Major 12 February 1995
- Lieutenant Colonel 31 August 1999
- Colonel 30 January 2003
- Brigadier General 12 March 2007