Col. David O’Donahue, of Ashland, Wis., the outgoing commander of the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, will be formally promoted to the rank of brigadier general during a March 16ceremony in the Senate Chamber of the state capitol building in Madison.

Gov. Scott Walker, the commander-in-chief of the Wisconsin National Guard, will administer the oath of office.

O’Donahue will now serve as the deputy adjutant general for civil support. In this role he will assist the Adjutant General in managing and directing the administration, coordination, planning, development, execution and supervision of the Wisconsin National Guard’s Joint Staff. His primary responsibility will be planning and preparing for the Wisconsin National Guard’s response to domestic events to include state emergencies, man-made or natural disasters and federal military mobilizations.

O’Donahue previously served as the commander of the Milwaukee-based 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade and as the chief of staff of the Wisconsin National Guard’s joint staff. He began his Wisconsin Army National Guard career in 1991 after transferring from the Connecticut Army National Guard. He has held a wide array of assignments in the Wisconsin National Guard including time as a platoon leader, executive officer, company commander and many engineer assignments, including time as the commander of the 724th Engineer Battalion in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

He deployed to Iraq in 2004-05 and again in 2010-11 in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. In his last deployment, he commanded an eight company battalion consisting of active, reserve and National Guard units serving as the lone engineer battalion conducting route clearance, bridging and construction operations throughout Iraq.

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