Donovan takes command of I.G. Brown Training and Education Center

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
  • I.G. Brown Training and Education Center
Col. Kevin M. Donovan took command of the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center here April 29, through a change of command, giving the Air National Guard's principal learning campus a new commander.

Donovan took responsibility from Col. Jessica Meyeraan, who is reassigned as the Chief of Staff for the National Guard Bureau's Joint Staff, in Arlington, Va. Donovan previously served as the Air National Guard Principal Deputy Director for Operations.

"Colonel Donovan comes with this great experience - I can tell you, I'm reluctant to lose him from the readiness center," said Brig. Gen. Michael R. Taheri, commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center, Joint Base Andrews, Md. "I know Colonel Meyeraan has done a great job."

The campus is a detachment of the readiness center and conducts enlisted professional military education as well as professional continuing education for the National Guard, the regular Air Force and the Air Force Reserve Command. It also manages a nationwide satellite and HD teletraining broadcast studio.

Meyeraan commanded the TEC since 2014. Since that time she oversaw the education of thousands of service members and watched over the groundbreaking of a 47K-square-foot classroom and dormitory facility that will open later this year. She also led the development of the National Guard's joint General Officer Support Staff Course and worked to establish the campus as a U.S. Air Force Heritage Holding site, among other accomplishments.

Donovan was commissioned in 1988 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Clarkson University. His operational assignments include more than 2,000 hours as an air battle manager in the Airborne Warning and Control System E-3 aircraft, including combat operations support in the Balkans.  He entered the Maine Air National Guard in 1999 and served as the Commander, 243rd Engineering Installation Squadron in South Portland.

Donovan served in a variety of branch- and division-level positions in the readiness center's Communications Directorate. He was a Politico-Military Planner and the Deputy Division Chief for the Homeland Division, Deputy Directorate for Politico-Military Affairs (Western Hemisphere), Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He also served as the Air National Guard's Director of Communications.

Donovan's personal awards include two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, three Meritorious Service Medals, five Aerial Achievement Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, and the NATO Medal, among other unit-level and service awards.